AMUR LEOPARD
Main threats for the survival of the Amur leopard:

Habitat-loss due to repeated seasonal forest fires.

Direct persecution of leopards by local villagers living in the leopard range.

Genetic impoverishment due to low numbers.

Depletion of wildlife resources by Chinese that (illegally) cross the Russian border in the leopard range.

Depletion of prey by over-hunting and poaching by local villagers as well as "weekend" hunters from the close-by cities of Vladivostok and Ussurisk.

Unwillingness of prosecutors and judges to bring justice to poachers. Arrested poachers who illegally killed ungulates usually receive relatively small fines. Their rifle is returned to them after this fine has been paid. 

Too few people, even in Primorye, are aware of the existence of Amur leopards, and this results in a lack of local and international support for its conservation. However, thanks to intensive education and media campaigns, awareness has much improved in recent years. 
 
 
 

 

 
Amur leopard

Occurring across almost the whole of Africa and most of Asia, the leopard has the widest distribution of any felid. Despite the wide occurrence of the species, the Amur or Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is perhaps the most endangered large cat in the world. Recognized as one of eight leopard subspecies and named for the Amur River that forms much of the border between China and Russia, it has a long winter coat and is easily distinguished from other leopards by its large rosettes. Many specialists consider it to be the most beautiful of the leopards. It certainly is a remarkable large cat, in some ways reminiscent of the snow leopard. In the sixties and seventies the Amur leopard was still found in considerable numbers in former Manchuria in China, on the Korean peninsula and in the southern part of Primorye in the Russian Far East. The Amur leopard is now restricted to a small patch of habitat in Southeast Russia along the Chinese and Korean borders, where no more than forty individuals survive.

The population of Amur leopards is estimated at 40-50 individuals (up from 25-35 a decade ago).
Amur leopard crossing stream (Y. Shibnev)
 

The future

The future of te Amur leopard may look bleak, but it is not hopeless. The population has increased. And we have to bear in mind that the Amur tiger also bounced back from a low point of less than 50 individuals in Russia to a population of approximately 500 tigers. We expect that more sustainable hunting, improved anti-poaching, fire-fighting and conservation measures in China will result in a further increase of the leopard population. There is als plan to re-introduce Amur leopards into parts of its former range where they have disappeared approximately 30 years ago, but where conditions seem more favourable at present.

Tigris Foundation and its ALTA partners have developed a very comprehensive programme in Russia and China for the conservation of the Amur leopard, that includes:

  • Technical support for the four anti-poaching teams of the National Park "Land of the Leopard"
    (support includes patrol vehicles, fuel, spare parts and ranger outfits)
  • Monitoring of the efforts and results of these anti-poaching teams
  • Bonus payments for anti-poaching teams that perform well 
  • Forest fire-fighting and fire monitoring
  • Compensation payments for livestock killed by tigers and leopards 
  • A comprehensive education and public awareness programme 
  • Habitat, prey and leopard population monitoring (including snow track and camera-tarp counts) 
  • Amur leopard wildlife health and ecological research 
  • Support for the management of protected areas

The programme is managed with very little bureaucracy and implemented with very limited funds.