This week we are moving to the east to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China to meet rare Amur leopard.
Amur leopard
The Amur leopard differs from other leopard subspecies by its thick fur that is pale cream-colored, particularly in winter. Rosettes on the flanks are 5 cm × 5 cm (2.0 in × 2.0 in) and widely spaced, up to 2.5 cm (0.98 in), with thick, unbroken rings and darkened centers. Its fur is fairly soft with long and dense hair. The length of hair on the back is 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) in summer and up to 70 mm (2.8 in) in winter. The winter coat varies from fairly light yellow to dense yellowish-red with a golden tinge or rusty-reddish-yellow. In summer, the fur is brighter with more vivid coloration pattern. It is rather small in body size, with males larger than females.
Amur leopards are solitary, unless females have offspring. Records from camera-traps indicate that they are more active during the day than at night and during twilight, both in the summer and winter seasons. This activity pattern coincides with activity of prey species such as Siberian roe deer, sika deer and wild boar.
They are extremely conservative in their choice of territory. An individual's territory is usually located in a river basin which generally extends to the natural topographical borders of the area. The territory of two individuals overlaps sometimes, but only slightly. Depending on sex, age and family size, the size of an individual's territory varies from 5,000–30,000 ha (19–116 sq mi). They use the same hunting trails, migration routes and even rest places over the course of many years.
Leopards are resident at places where wild animals are abundant, and follow herds of ungulates. In the Ussuri region the main prey of leopards are Siberian roe deer and Manchurian sika deer, Manchurian wapiti, Siberian musk deer, Amur moose and Ussuri wild boar. They also catch hare, Eurasian badger, fowl, and mice. In Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve roe deer is their main prey year-round, but they also prey on young Asian black bear if they are less than two years old.
Distribution
In the Russian Far East, the Amur leopard inhabits an area of about 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq mi) today. It is well adapted to a cold climate and snow. Leopards cross between Russia, China, and North Korea across the Tumen River despite a high and long wire fence marking the boundary.
The first camera trap image of an Amur leopard in northeastern China was taken in 2010 in Hunchun National Nature Reserve located in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces. This habitat consists of broadleaved conifer and Korean pine forests at altitudes of 600–1,200 m (2,000–3,900 ft), where annual average temperature is about 1.5 °C (34.7 °F). In this area, leopards were repeatedly photographed by camera traps set up between January 2013 and July 2014 covering up to 4,858 km2 (1,876 sq mi).
Elsewhere in China, leopard range is fragmented with small populations occurring foremost in isolated reserves. In Shanxi Province, leopards were recorded in 16 protected areas during camera trapping surveys between 2007 and 2014. In Shaanxi Province, leopards were recorded in six nature reserves, including Foping National Nature Reserve.
Conservation
Amur leopard is considered as Critically Endangered and one of the rarest cats on Earth.
As of 2015, fewer than 60 individuals were estimated to survive in Russia and China. Camera-trapping surveys conducted between 2014 and 2015 revealed 92 individuals in an 8,398 km2 (3,242 sq mi) large transboundary area along the Russian-Chinese border. In 2019, it was reported that the population is close to 90 leopards. Around 87 individuals survived on the territory of the "Land of the Leopard National Park" in Russia and from 8 to 12 in China.
A captive breeding programme for the Amur leopard was established in 1961 from nine wild-born founders. A molecular genetic survey revealed that at least two founders of the captive pedigree had genetic information that is not consistent with any wildborn Amur leopard. Both the American and European zoo populations include contribution of genes from a male founder that was not an Amur leopard. It has been the strategy of the European Endangered Species Programme to minimize his contribution and maintain genetic diversity of the captive population. As of December 2011, 173 captive Amur leopards were held in zoos worldwide.
You can help by adopting leopard on WWF website.
That's it for today. See you all next time.
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