Endangered Species: Amur Leopard
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| This Amur Leopard is in it's natural forest habitat. Source: Wildcats Conservation Alliance |
Unlike other subspecies of leopards which live in hot climates such as sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia, Amur Leopards inhabit the temperate forests of southeast Russia and northern China. It gets its name from where it lives, as this area is known as the Amur Heilong Landscape. The Amur Leopard spends most of the time in the trees as they prefer to live and hunt among the branches which also provides them with camouflage. They have been recorded running 37 mph, jumping horizontally 19 ft, and jumping vertically 10 ft. Due to the colder climate of these leopard's habitat, Amur Leopard's have thicker fur coats than other subspecies of leopards. According to World Wildlife Fund, their coats can grow up to 7 centimeters in the winter to protect against the frigid temperatures. Their coats are also paler than other subspecies with large, ring-like, black patterns. Amur Leopard mothers can have anywhere form 1 to 4 cubs. Males sometimes help raise the cubs and the cubs will leave the mother after 1.5 to 2 years. Some researchers have found that select siblings remain in contact during early years of independence. Amur Leopards have been seen giving grating coughs to announce territorial boundaries. People have also heard these leopards purr when eating.
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| This Amur Leopard cub will be raised in captivity. Source: Marwell Zoo |
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivores
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species: Pardus
Subspecies: Orientalis
So how did these beautiful big cats become endangered? One of their primary threats is habitat loss. More and more of the temperate forests they inhabit are being cut down. These leopards also suffer from poaching for the leopard's warm and ornate fur. Other threats include prey scarcity. Roe Deer, Silka Deer, and hares, all main parts of a Amur Leopard's diet, are hunted for food and income. Conservation efforts have provided some measure of success. The World Wildlife Fund wrote that the population of Amur Leopards in Russia has increased from 27-32 to 70-75 in the last 15 years. To help protect the leopards, the Russian Government announced a new protected area known as Land of the Leopard National Park in 2012. This 650,000 acres set aside includes 60% of the Amur Leopard's remaining natural habitat and was lobbied for by the WWF since 2001. WWF also hoped to establish a Sino-Russian trans-boundary nature reserve to include the parts of the Amur Leopard's habitat in China. Conservationists continue to monitor the Amur Leopards left in existence.
You can show your support for Amur Leopards by donating to the following charities: