WWF Caucasus Programme Office Consultancy announcement 1. Background of the programme The Caucasian also named the Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) is one of the subspecies of Leopard. It is a charismatic animal entitled as "Europe's last leopard", which is driving and demonstrating conservation efforts in the Caucasus ecoregion. Once native to almost the entire Caucasus ecoregion, today there are only small and isolated (sub-) populations with less than 60 leopards left in the ecoregion. Poaching of leopard and its prey species, human-wildlife conflicts, habitat destruction and fragmentation (e.g. illegal timber cutting, mining or unsustainable grazing), insufficient management of protected areas, inadequate law enforcement, and the lack of awareness of the local population ar