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Socio-political conflicts, forest landscapes, and digital technologies are brought together in a moving documentary called Sidik and the Panther, directed by Kurdish-Dutch filmmaker Reber Dosky, starring Sidik Barzani, and awarded IDFA's best Dutch documentary in 2019. The film can be streamed here.

Trailer

Summary:

"For 25 long years Sidik has been searching for a snow leopard in the war-scarred mountains of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. Once there were many leopards here. If they return, Sidik believes his people and his homeland will survive. If he can capture one of the magical creatures on film the region will be declared a national park. And the bombs will never fall again. Sidik still hasn't found his leopard. But he refuses to give up hope. As he travels through the Kurdish mountains, he meets, animals, rivers, plants, and people. Their memories and stories mesh with his own - Acclaimed director Reber Dosky's poetic film tells a story of hope, pride and the possibility of healing in a rarely-seen land of astonishing beauty." (IMDB)

Rehabilitating Transboundary Habitats through Camera Trapping

The work of biologist Hana Raza has been fundamental to the mapping of biodiversity in a country and region where war and conflicts have been present for over four decades. Raza and her team found evidence of the existence of the rare Persian Leopard on one of the mountains of Kurdistan, Iraq. Through the use of camera trapping and surveying local ecosystems and habitats, they have become one of the few sources of information on local biodiversity. The footage of the Persian Leopard was also shown in the documentary, where science-driven conservation and local stories come together to tell stories of extinction.

Nature Iraq Camera Trap Footage

Camera trap footage of the Persian Leopard. Image source: Nature Iraq, 2016 [camera trap image]. Retrieved April 8, 2022 from: https://osme.org/2016/01/funding-conservation-projects-a-voice-for-biodiversity-in-iraq/

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