With a total population of just 30 individuals in
the wild, the Amur leopard, is the most
endangered large cat on earth.

News 15 April 2012: 'Land of the Leopard' – The Russian government has announced a 1,000 square mile protected reserve to safeguard habitat for rare Amur leopards and Amur tigers. The national park, dubbed is in Russia's Far East.      
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Re-wilding
Zoo
leopards

There are
over 200
Amur leopards
in European
and USA zoo's
involved in
the breeding
programme.

The Amur leopard
is probably the only
large cat for which a
reintroduction programme using zoo
stock is likely to take place in the near future.

Please visit the ALTA Amur Leopard Conservation website www.amur-leopard.org/ and donate some much needed funds. The site provides information about the Amur leopard and about leopard conservation projects implemented by the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA).

At present a reintroduction plan is being prepared by local and international experts including WCS, ZSL, WWF Russia, Lazovsky Nature Reserve, the local NGO ISUNR, and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Pacific Institute of Geography and Institute of Biology and Soils. ALTA is already making preparations in the field (building of holding facilities and other infrastructure) for the difficult task of re-wilding the descendants of zoo leopards like Colchester Zoo's Milena.

The Amur Leopard is suffering daily risks from: poaching (and poaching of their prey, like deer); forest-fires which reduce their habitat; enraged farmers – who are now compensated for livestock killed by tigers and leopards.

ALTA and ZSL are also undertaking comprehensive education and public awareness programmes; as well as annual Population monitoring, (Snow-track counts and camera traps); Ecological and biomedical research; support for protected areas and hunting leases; lobbying for improved conservation policies and regulations.

Other details of interest:

Of the eight subspecies the Amur, or Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) shows the strongest divergence in coat pattern. The coat is pale cream (especially in winter) and has widely spaced rosettes with thick, black rings and darkened centres.

The main prey species of the Amur leopard are roe and sika deer, along with hares and badgers.

Whilst it has been found in other regions that leopards do not do well in areas where they share territory with tigers, this has not proved to be the case in Russia. Studies have indicated that an increased tiger population in the Southwest Primorye area has not adversely affected the leopard population.

In the wild, leopards live for 10-15 years and they may reach 20 years in captivity. The UK's Marwell Zoo have had success in breeding these rare wild leopards.

marabese