The cameras which WWF Armenia has installed in Yenokavan village of Tavush Province have “captured” a leopard, the WWF Armenia news service has informed in a statement.

As per this statement, thus, we can state that the leopard has returned to Tavush Province after a 50-year break. This animal was last seen in the area in the 1970s. Now, Tavush became the fourth province in Armenia where leopards live.

Since 2002, the WWF, together with the Ministry of Environment, has been implementing a leopard protection program in Armenia. Later, a number of other partner organizations joined this program.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the leopard was quite widespread in Armenia. But over the years, leopard hunting expanded so much that in 1987, the leopard was included in the Armenian SSR Red Book of endangered animals.

Currently, there are up to 10 leopards in Armenia.