Today there are 70 known adult Amur leopards in the wild, up from just 30 in 2007.
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Habitat
Amur leopards live in the temperate forests of Far Eastern Russia, experiencing harsh winters with extreme cold and deep snow, as well as hot summers.
Diet
Amur leopards hunt at night and need large territories to avoid competition for prey. They silently watch their prey and ambush them using a burst of energy reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. Their tongue has tiny rasps or hooks, called denticles, which are used to scrape the meat off of the bones of their prey. The Amur leopard is a primary consumer, and therefore has no symbiotic relationships.
Breeding
Females first breed at 3-4 years. After a gestation period of around 12 weeks, cubs are born in litters of 1-4 individuals. The cubs stay with their mother for up to two years before becoming fully independent. Typically, a female Amur leopard will successfully raise 6-8 cubs at most throughout her lifetime. In the wild, leopards live for 10-15 years, but may reach 20 years in captivity.
Defense Mechanisms
These include:
- An ability to climb up trees - leopards are known as the best climbers in the animal kingdom.
- Camouflage - Their spotted fur acts to disguise them in their natural habitat. Camouflage also helps leopards hunt their prey unnoticed.
- Sharp teeth and claws - can be fatal to anything considering attacking a leopard. Leopards are notoriously powerful creatures.
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PoachersThe Amur leopard is poached largely for its beautiful, spotted fur. Agriculture and villages surround the forests where the leopards live. As a result the forests are relatively accessible, making poaching a problem—not only for the leopards themselves, but also for important prey species, | Forest Fires Forest fires destroying habitat for Amur leopards is leading to population decline and competition over habitat, within the Amur leopard species and between the Amur leopard and other species. This is an example of a density independent factor leading to population decline and competition. | Prey Scarcity Important prey species include roe deer, sika deer and hare. In China the prey base is insufficient to sustain large populations of leopards and tigers. Prey populations will recover if measures are taken to limit the poaching of prey species and the forests are managed for logging more sustainably. This is an example of a density dependent factor contributing to population decline. |
Poachers
The Amur leopard is poached largely for its beautiful, spotted fur. Agriculture and villages surround the forests where the leopards live. As a result the forests are relatively accessible, making poaching a problem—not only for the leopards themselves, but also for important prey species,
Forest Fires
Forest fires destroying habitat for Amur leopards is leading to population decline and competition over habitat, within the Amur leopard species and between the Amur leopard and other species. This is an example of a density independent factor leading to population decline and competition.
Prey Scarcity
Important prey species include roe deer, sika deer and hare. In China the prey base is insufficient to sustain large populations of leopards and tigers. Prey populations will recover if measures are taken to limit the poaching of prey species and the forests are managed for logging more sustainably. This is an example of a density dependent factor contributing to population decline.
A Safe Haven
Amur leopards received a safe haven in 2012 when the Russian government declared tbe Land of the Leopard National Park a new protected area. This marked a major effort to save the world’s rarest cat. Expanding nearly 650,000 acres, it includes all of the Amur leopard’s breeding areas and about 60 percent of the cat’s remaining habitat. WWF lobbied for the establishment of this park in the Russian Far East since 2001
Monitoring Amur Leopards in the Russian Far East
Goal: Monitor Amur leopard and tiger populations in southwest Primorye
