Conservationists in the Caucasus are tracking an endangered Persian leopard named Aren. She is believed to have traveled 240 kilometers through cold mountains on three legs, likely after being injured by a landmine left over from past conflicts in the region.
Only about a dozen Persian leopard sightings have been confirmed in Georgia and Armenia in two decades, so each one tells researchers the subspecies still holds on there. It also shows how leftover landmines wound wildlife long after wars end. Small NGOs like Georgia's NACRES, with a staff of three, keep monitoring the cats despite thin funding.
✦ Even on three legs, a leopard can remind a region it still has wild heart.