The Amur Leopard

The Amur Leopard

The Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis or Panthera pardus amurensis) might just be the most endangered big cat (or any feline) in the world, with an estimate of 25 to 34 wild individuals. Also called the Far East Leopard, Manchurian leopard, Korean leopard, or the Siberian Leopard, the Amur lives in the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Russia. At one point, its territory stretched throughout the Korean Peninsula, northeastern China, and an extended area in Russia. Occasionally it could even be found in warmer areas and its homeland was often shared with Siberian Tigers. Some may remain in North Korea, but what with the current political situation in this country, the facts are unknown.

The fur trade and habitat destruction, fairly common and widespread occurrences, particularly in obscure regions such as the areas that the Amur leopard lives in, are the main causes of endangerment. From 1970-1983, 80% of this leopard's range was lost to logging. Non-natural forest fires started by farmers in an attempt to burn their fields and increase soil productivity are also a serious cause of habitat loss.

This fires are multidimensional threats--they not only make an area briefly uninhabitable to any life, but the first thing to come back after a fire is grassland, which the leopards cannot live in. If too much of a forest is burned away, it cannot reclaim the meadows and the damage becomes permanent. Amur leopard prey such as roe deer, sitka deer, musk deer, wild boar, badger, and hare can be driven into areas where they cannot survive, or are even killed in the blaze.

Of the approximately 30 remaining in the wild, only six are females. Scientists predict that there needs to be at least 100 to maintain genetic diversity; a Planet Earth episode featured a mother leopard and her cub, who was sired by her own father, resulting in bad health in the cub. Hope for this species relies heavily on the approximately 200 captive individuals, mainly in North American zoos. A captive-breeding program will be necessary to maintain health genetic levels and prevent inbreeding.

Kelsey