Far Eastern leopard habitat. Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)Eng

Far Eastern leopard, also called Amur leopard, the rarest cat of the Far Eastern region. The Far Eastern leopard is the rarest animal from the cat family on the entire planet.

Nine dozen individuals - these are the official statistics released by scientists after a scrupulous census of the population of Far Eastern leopards, one of five subspecies of the spectacular cat family.

Unreasonable extermination by humans has brought beautiful predators to the brink of extinction, with an entire subspecies being included in the list of Red Book animals.

Habitat

The Amur leopard is the northernmost representative of the species; its habitat extends far to the north, beyond the 45th parallel. Even at the beginning of the last century, these animals occupied the Amur and Ussuri regions, and were found on the Korean Peninsula and on a significant part of Chinese lands.

Nowadays, the last representatives of Amur leopards are found in the northern regions of Russia and the border forests of China (Manchuria).

They are suitable for life deciduous forests, rugged terrain with rocky terrain, hills with cliffs suitable for hunting. And definitely a large number water resources, availability of places for watering.

The Far Eastern leopard does not like high snow cover and needs large quantities herbivores for a successful hunt.

According to scientists, the Russian population reaches eight dozen individuals; Chinese Manchuria accounts for only about a dozen animals. So far there are too few of them to hope for the successful conservation of the planet’s northernmost leopard.

Appearance, dimensions and weight

Once upon a time, Amur leopards were distinguished by their considerable weight, large males gained up to 75 kilograms. Modern animals are slightly smaller: males weigh no more than 70 kilograms, females maximum 50. The length of the animal reaches 136 centimeters, the tail can grow by 90.

The appearance of northern animals claims to be feline grace, multiplied by power. The slender, elongated body is crowned with a neat round head, the legs are slender and strong, and the tail of the Far Eastern leopard is very elongated.

If you could look into your eyes wild beast, then the vertical oval-shaped pupils, which transform into a circle when switching to night vision, would immediately attract attention.

In the warm season, the Far Eastern leopard sports a short “fur coat” of bright colors; in winter, it “changes clothes” into a thick (but not lush) outfit of muted colors. You can see almost red-haired individuals with a reddish or golden tint.

The outstanding feature of the Far Eastern leopard's skin is the black spots that form ring-shaped patterns or rosettes scattered throughout the animal's body.

The range of spots is unique; in the whole world there are no two leopards with the same patterns on their beautiful skin. This seemingly bright color helps the forest hunter to camouflage himself, blend in with the surrounding world, and hunt more efficiently.

An interesting feature of the species is its sharp chocolate claws with a white “manicure”; the animal can quickly retract them into the pads of its paws so as not to spoil them while walking on rocky terrain.

Behavior and lifestyle

The Far Eastern leopard is a solitary nocturnal hunter, moving silently across its hunting grounds. The marked area of the forest directly depends on the sex of the animal and the burden of the family.

A lone male owns a decent area, much larger than that of the young mother. But as the litter matures, the female expands her boundaries. Moving further and further from the lair.

Young males have to conquer their own pieces of land, sometimes fighting with seasoned fellow tribesmen. The poorest parts of the forest fall to the lot of young people and nursing mothers; game-rich lands are always in the hands of the strongest representatives of the species.

The Amur leopard goes hunting with the last rays of the sun and usually gets dinner before midnight. This beast has two tactics in reserve: sneak up on a potential victim unnoticed or attack it from an ambush. The hunter is always alone, with the exception of mothers with grown-up offspring.

In winter, when the days are short, he can hunt during daylight, following the tracks laid by wild boars so as not to wade through snow drifts. At dusk, leopards descend to rivers and streams to drink.

Occasionally, clashes between leopards and other large predators occur, but the beast has no real enemies. It is extremely rare for the Far Eastern leopard to wander into human settlements; attacks on livestock are recorded once every ten years. Skirmishes with dogs often occur, in most cases this occurs in the hunting grounds of the predator.

Average life expectancy in natural environment- ten years, some individuals live up to fifteen. In captivity, the life of Amur leopards is extended to twenty years.

Nutrition

The favorite food of the Far Eastern predator is sika deer and roe deer grazing in the habitats of the Amur leopard. If the animal does not come across these representatives of artiodactyls, then a possible victim will be a wild boar or a small wapiti.

In difficult times, the predator switches to small animals, then game (hazel grouse, pheasants), hares and badgers appears in its diet. “Chinese” leopards (living on the lands of the People's Republic of China) expand their menu to include local goats called gorals.

In the worst case scenario, a predator can fast for two weeks without harm to health. But Far Eastern leopards consume plant foods, grass and grains exclusively for preventive purposes, thus cleansing the stomach.

Meat is necessarily included in the diet of small kittens; it becomes an additive to mother's milk. The babies receive their first meat in semi-digested form from their mother; later she begins to deliver pieces of her prey to the family.

Reproduction

Babies of this species of leopards appear very rarely, one pregnancy after three years. And unfortunately, there are very few sexually mature females ready to reproduce. The situation is somewhat saved by the tendency of Amur leopards to polygamy; the pair does not form for long.

The mating season falls in November and December; the female, ready for pregnancy, informs the “gentlemen” about her position with frequent marks. But the lady still needs to be won; often her position is achieved by several males, who fill the surrounding area with long, loud cries.

As a result, the female goes to the male who wins the “cat” battle. Priority and increased interest is shown to ladies who already have raised offspring. The female, who has taken the day off, sets up a den in a cozy crevice protected from the winds, and prepares to give birth three months after mating.

The maximum litter of Far Eastern leopards is four blind spotted lumps. Although usually a couple of kittens are born. But, unfortunately, the mortality rate among newborns is too high. The eyes open in nine days, and babies need a month to fully adapt. After another thirty days, they begin to explore the area near the lair.

The third month is the time to learn to hunt and explore maternal lands. Babies are already able to follow their mother for several kilometers. If you have to travel through snow drifts, then the mother makes a path, and the little leopards follow her in single file.

The offspring receive mother's milk up to the age of six months, but from the third month meat is added to their diet. A one-year-old kitten can feed itself and survive in the wild, but it only becomes an adult when it is two years old. From two to three years of age, the Amur leopard can begin to have its own offspring.

Reasons for the decline in numbers

In addition to extremely slow reproduction and population replenishment, the reason for the disappearance of the Far Eastern leopard was barbaric human activity.

Forests and territories suitable for hunting grounds for predators. They are rapidly declining under the onslaught of civilization, plus they “help” forest fires, destroying vegetation and forcing herbivores to migrate.

This also includes highways laid through centuries-old forests and railway tracks, plowing land for fields, uncontrolled logging trees for logging.

Poachers who poison the animals with packs of dogs cause enormous harm to the small population of Amur leopards. Hunters strive to obtain a valuable skin beautiful beast, and Chinese healers pay more money for parts of the carcass used in making potions.

Sometimes Far Eastern leopards become victims of deer park owners. Predators trying to get food for themselves are shot right at the scene of the “crime.” Very rarely, careless leopards are hit by cars passing along the highways.

Hunting for the Far Eastern leopard and its protection

Hunting for the most beautiful cat on the planet is strictly prohibited (since the fifties of the last century). The killer of an Amur leopard in China will have to pay with his own life. In Russia, a caught hunter will be imprisoned for three years, or in a particularly serious case, seven years, and will pay a fine of two million rubles.

The predator was included in the Red Book of the Primorsky Territory back in the sixties, but the population has not yet recovered. Nowadays, he looks at the reader from the pages of the International Red Book.

The rarest cat in the world, the number of which in nature is about 70 individuals.

Taxonomy

The Russian name of the subspecies is Amur or Korean leopard, Far Eastern leopard, East Siberian leopard
Latin name - Panthera pardus orientalis
English name- Amur leopard, panthera
Order - carnivores (Carnivora)
Family - cats (Felidae)
Genus - Pantera
The species is leopard (Panthera pardus), within which there are 6 living subspecies.

Status of the species in nature

It is listed in the IUCN and Russian Red Lists as a subspecies endangered - CITES I, IUCN (CR).

Species and man

For a long time, people have hunted leopards, and hunting such an animal was considered valor. But times are changing, there are more and more people, and fewer predatory animals. In addition to hunting the predators themselves, people also hunt their potential prey - ungulates, successfully competing with animals. Currently, the leopard is protected by law, however, the decrease in the area of untouched economic activity lands and the reduction in the number of ungulates forces animals to make increasingly longer journeys in search of food. Sometimes they are overtaken by a poacher's bullet, and sometimes they simply cannot meet a partner for procreation.

The Far Eastern leopard is the rarest and northernmost of the leopard subspecies. Currently, this animal is being actively studied not only using the proven methods of naturalists: following tracks, studying the remains of vital activity, but also with the help of modern ones. Scientists mark these animals with radio collars, install camera traps, and, due to the fact that the pattern of spots on the skin of each animal is individual, portraits of almost all Far Eastern leopards have been made. As of February 2015 in wildlife 56 individuals have survived in Russia and from 8 to 12 individuals in China.
Various international environmental organizations also play an active role in the study and conservation of these wonderful animals. Recently created national park“Land of the Leopard”, which united the Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve, the Leopardovy nature reserve and surrounding areas. In the last few years, thanks to the efforts made, the number of Amur leopards in the wild has begun to increase.

General information

Range and habitats

At the beginning of the 20th century, the range of the Amur leopard covered Eastern and Northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, the Amur and Ussuri territories. To date, this animal has survived only in Southern Primorye and, perhaps, several individuals live in China.

Like most large predators, this animal is not associated with any one type of habitat. Its presence can be noted on forested slopes and ridges of mountain spurs with rocks and placers. Lasts for low mountains With deciduous forests Manchurian type where there is not much snow in winter.

Appearance and morphology

This remarkably beautiful cat has a flexible, slender and at the same time elongated body, a rounded head, long tail, slim, very strong legs. According to measurements of 6 males, the body length of the Far Eastern leopard is 107–136 cm, the tail is 82–90 cm, the height at the shoulders is 64–78 cm. The body weight of females is up to 42.5 kg, males - up to 50 kg.

The color of the main background of winter fur is shiny, from light cream to a more saturated yellowish-red with a golden tint; lighter on the sides and outside of the limbs; on the stomach and inside of the limbs - white. The spotted pattern consists of intense black solid or ring spots. The spots on the belly and limbs are continuous. Summer fur with more saturated colors. The length of the fur on the back is up to 30–50 mm, on the belly up to 70 mm.

The rarest cat in the world - the number in nature is no more than 25 individuals

Activity and social organization

Leads mainly twilight image life. It usually goes out hunting an hour or two before sunset and hunts for the first half of the night, although sometimes it pursues prey during the day, especially on cloudy, cold days and in winter. It also appears at the watering hole at dusk.

Like other large cats, the leopard does not like to share territory with other individuals of its species, however, the habitats of males and females may overlap. A female with kittens has a small habitat, approximately 4–5 hectares, while the male leads a more nomadic lifestyle.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

The leopard's diet mainly consists of ungulates: roe deer, young wild boar, sika deer and wapiti calves. In addition, it eats hares, badgers, raccoon dogs, pheasants, hazel grouse and various insects. On average, one roe deer can last a leopard 10 days of a well-fed life.

The leopard hunts roe deer by hiding them during feeding or lying down. The victim is overtaken by a short jerk, sometimes ending with a powerful 5-6 meter jump, knocked to the ground, biting the cervical vertebrae. If the victim is not overtaken by short distance, the leopard stops chasing. In familiar territory the beast has favorite places hunting. The leopard stays near its prey for 1–3 days. In an effort to protect its prey, it drags it under the crowns of trees and onto trees, under creases and rocks.

Reproduction and development

The Far Eastern leopard's rut occurs during winter months(December-January). After 3 months, from 1 to 5 cubs appear in the den, which the female makes in scattered stones, in caves and under overhanging rocks, usually there are 2-3. Kittens are born blind, covered with thick, rather long hair. The skin is dotted with small dark brown and black spots that do not form rosettes. The weight of a newborn is 500–700 g, body length is about 15 cm. They mature in 7–9 days. At 12–15 days, the kittens begin to crawl around the nest, and by two months they leave the den. At this time, the female regurgitates semi-digested meat for them, then they begin to eat the prey brought by the mother.

The female feeds the kittens alone. Young animals stay with their mother until her next estrus, and when left by the female, they do not part with each other until the end of winter. They stay nearby for some time, and then can go long distances. Apparently, mortality among young and 1-2 year old leopards is very high, but kittens may be born annually.

Lifespan

In captivity, some animals lived up to 21 years; in nature, life expectancy is much shorter.

Keeping animals at the Moscow Zoo

Several Far Eastern leopards now live in the Moscow Zoo. One of them, nicknamed Mizer, can be seen at the exhibition, the rest live in the breeding nursery rare species and successfully reproduce there. The young, handsome male who can be seen on display in the “Cat Row” on the Old Zoo grounds was also born in the zoo nursery. He is not at all afraid of people, you can see him throughout the day, however, like other cats, he is not always active.

Currently, there are more Far Eastern leopards in zoos than in the wild. Unfortunately, many of them are already old. In captivity, it is very difficult to obtain offspring from leopards: the partners often do not like each other, and in order to play new wedding you need to bring an animal from another zoo. Leopards are serious animals, and transporting them is not an easy task. Therefore, we are very proud that we were able to create conditions in which animals feel comfortable and regularly give birth. All leopards kept in captivity are listed in the International Stud Book.
Leopards are fed the meat of various animals, mainly beef. Vitamin and mineral supplements and sprouted cereals are periodically given.

The rarest cat on the planet - this unspoken title has been held for many years by the Far Eastern leopard, whose position (compared to other leopard subspecies) is recognized as particularly critical.

Description of the Far Eastern leopard

The first to describe it, back in 1857, under the specific name Felis orientalis, was the German naturalist Hermann Schlegel, who studied the skin of an animal killed in Korea. The predator has many names - Manchurian (obsolete) or Amur leopard, Far Eastern or East Siberian leopard, as well as Amur leopard. The species acquired its modern Latin name Panthera pardus orientalis in 1961 thanks to Ingrid Weigel.

Appearance

A powerful wild cat with stunningly beautiful fur, whose spotted pattern never repeats, like our fingerprints. This feature is used to identify Amur leopards, which are monitored in nature. The Far Eastern leopard is inferior to the tiger in size, gaining 50–70 kg in adulthood with a length of 1.1–1.4 m. But the leopard has a more impressive tail (up to 0.9 m), almost equal to the length of the body.

On a small head, neat rounded ears are set wide, eyes are transparent gray, a round pupil, in the mouth (like many cats) there are 30 teeth and a tuberous, mobile tongue that helps to wash and also separate meat from bones. The Far Eastern leopard has wide, strong paws, especially the front ones. They are equipped with extremely sharp and curved claws, which the predator retracts when walking to avoid blunting.

This is interesting! In summer, the coat is half as long as in winter: by cold weather it grows up to 5 cm (on the belly up to 7 cm). True, even winter fur cannot be called lush because of its tight fit to the body.

Winter color varies from light yellow to yellowish-red with golden hues or reddish-rust. By summer the coat becomes brighter. The sides of the leopard and the outer side of the limbs are always lighter in color.

The unique ornament is created thanks to solid black spots scattered throughout the body and complemented by rosettes (uneven black circles enclosing a red color within themselves). This coloring allows the predator to camouflage itself when hunting: the spots visually blur the contours of the body, making it less noticeable in the forest.

Lifestyle, behavior

The life of the Far Eastern leopard is largely determined by the harsh climate and the general behavioral motives of wild cats: the predator is fundamentally solitary, strictly territorial, active at dusk and at night. To communicate with relatives, it uses voice, visual and odor marks, or a combination of marks. The former include burrs on trunks, trace chains, as well as loosening of soil and snow. The smell is left by urine and feces.

The leopard uses an individual territory, permanent paths and shelters for broods for many years, sharply suppressing the presence of individuals of its own sex on it. The position and area of personal plots do not depend on the season and remain unchanged all year round.

Males do not enter the territories of males, nor do females enter the territories of other females, but male territories include the territories of several females visited during the rut. Another subtlety is that leopards strictly maintain the inviolability of their central sectors, but not the outskirts.

This is interesting! The area of the male site is 250–500 km², several times larger than the area of the female site, which averages 110–130 km². The Amur leopard regularly walks around its personal territory, marking trees with its claws and leaving scent marks on the boundaries.

In this absentee way, animals divide the territory, limiting themselves, if necessary, to behavioral threats and rarely entering into direct conflicts. Traces mortal combat The observers did not find any leopards, although they did find signs of two males fighting for conditional boundaries. One of the researchers spoke about a “contact” collision between a young leopard, marking someone else’s territory, and its owner, who found the impudent one, drove him up a tree and gave him a demonstrative thrashing.

Far Eastern leopards do not like deep snow, which is probably why they do not try to spread further north. In winter, avoiding snowdrifts, predators move more along ski tracks, animal trails and roads. Leopards hunt in the first half of the night, leaving an hour or two before sunset. They also go to watering after sunset. Twilight activity gives way to daytime activity, especially on stormy or frosty days.

Important! The Amur leopard has very acute vision, thanks to which it sees potential prey at a distance of up to 1.5 km. Hearing and smell are no less well developed, helping to avoid meeting a person.

The Far Eastern leopard, unlike its southern relatives, does not attack people, preferring to carefully follow them without giving away its presence. Most often, young leopards spy on people, whose curiosity is dictated by age.

How long do Amur leopards live?

In the wild, representatives of the species do not live very long, only 10–15 years, but twice as long, up to 20 years, in zoological parks.

Sexual dimorphism

There are no anatomical sex differences between males and females, except for the lighter skull structure of females and their smaller size compared to males. The weight of the female usually varies between 25–42.5 kg.

Range, habitats

The Far Eastern leopard is the most frost-resistant of the nearly 30 known subspecies of Panthera pardus, living just north of the 45th parallel. Once upon a time, the range of the Amur leopard in the Far East covered almost the entire Sikhote-Alin ridge. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Amur leopard's distribution area included:

East/Northeast China;
Amur and Ussuri territories;
Korean Peninsula.

Today rare beast preserved in our country (on a strip 50–60 km wide) only in the southwest of Primorye, and, presumably, several individuals live in China, periodically crossing the Russian-Chinese border.

Like most large predators, the Far Eastern leopard is not strictly associated with one type of habitat, but prefers rugged terrain with steep slopes of hills, where there are watersheds and rocky outcrops.

The Amur leopard often settles in rugged terrain with untouched coniferous-deciduous forests, among oaks and cedar, where ungulates are found in abundance - its main prey.

Important! The trouble is that there are very few such forests left in Primorye. Since the end of the century before last, due to the laying of highways, the construction of cities and mass felling The historical range of the Far Eastern leopard has decreased by 40 (!) times.

Today the leopard is squeezed from all sides (between the Chinese border, the sea, residential areas around Vladivostok and the Vladivostok-Khabarovsk highway, where railway) and is forced to make do with an isolated area of up to 400 hectares. This is its modern range.

Diet of the Far Eastern leopard

The Amur leopard is a true predator, whose diet, mainly consisting of ungulates, is occasionally interspersed with birds and insects.

The leopard hunts such game as:

and musk deer;
spotted;
wapiti calves;
and Manchu.

Owners are hostile to leopards deer farms, where animals periodically penetrate, bullying park deer.

This is interesting! An adult predator needs 1 large ungulate for 12–15 days, but sometimes the interval between catching suitable prey doubles, to 20–25 days. The beast has learned to endure prolonged hunger strikes.

The leopard usually hunts at selected points in its territory, using 2 standard techniques: attacking from ambush or stealing the victim. The second method is more often used for roe deer, hiding them when they are feeding or resting. There are also group forays of a female leopard with her brood. When tracking prey, the Amur leopard follows the terrain, hiding behind elevations, not stepping on dry branches/foliage, and carefully stepping on exposed roots and stones.

It overtakes the game with a sharp jerk or a powerful 5-6 meter jump, knocking it to the ground and biting the cervical vertebrae. It does not chase animals for a long time, stopping the pursuit if they break away at a short distance. If the hunt is successful, the leopard drags the carcass (protecting it from scavengers) into rock crevices or trees, eating it for several days.

Cereals are often found in leopard feces (up to 7.6%), which is explained by their ability to remove digestive tract hair that gets into the stomach when licking the fur.

Reproduction and offspring

The rut of the Far Eastern leopard is confined to winter (December–January). At this time, males show great interest in females who have adult, almost independent kittens. Like all cats, the rut is accompanied by roars and fights of males (although the leopard, more silent compared to the lion and tiger, rarely gives voice at other times).

The reproductive capabilities of the Amur leopard are limited by several factors that explain the polygamy of males:

the female becomes pregnant once every 3 years (less than once a year);
in 80% of cases, 1–2 cubs appear;
a small number of females capable of reproduction;
high mortality of young animals.

3 months after successful mating, the female brings spotted long-haired kittens, each of which weighs 0.5–0.7 kg and is no more than 15 cm long. a den built by a female in a cave, under an overhanging rock or in a rocky ruin.

Important! The mother feeds the kittens milk from 3 to 5–6 months, but at 6–8 weeks she begins to feed them burp (semi-digested meat), gradually accustoming them to fresh meat.

By 2 months, small leopards crawl out of the den, and at 8 months they follow their mother in search of food, deciding on independent forays at 9–10 months of age. Young animals remain with their mother until her next heat, uniting in groups until the end of winter, when the female leaves them. At first they wander close to the den, gradually moving further and further away from it. Young males show independence earlier than their sisters, but the latter are ahead of their brothers in puberty. Males become fertile at approximately 2–3 years of age.

The basis of its diet is made up of ungulates - Siberian roe deer and sika deer, but sometimes the leopard can also feast on small animals, such as raccoon dog, badger or hare. This will not be difficult for him, since this animal has perfectly developed hearing and vision. A leopard is able to detect very high sounds - with a frequency of up to 80 kilohertz (while a person hears only sounds with a frequency of up to 20 kilohertz). The spotted cat prefers to hunt at night, although sometimes it pursues prey during the day.

Interestingly, despite their predatory nature, leopards do not attack livestock that may wander into their territory. However, you should not come to the reserve with your pets: caretakers warn that these cats actively attack stray dogs.

It is worth noting that Far Eastern leopards are very peaceful, and throughout history there has not been a single case of a predator attacking a person. And young individuals, when meeting a person by chance, are in no hurry to run away, studying him with interest.

The spotted color of each predator is unique, like human fingerprints - scientists use it to distinguish these cats from each other. A motley (or camouflage) pattern covers the entire body; there are single spots on the head and paws, and on the sides, back and tail they form rings, so-called rosettes.

In general, these cats prefer to live alone. Each leopard has its own territory, through which the predator regularly moves to leave its marks. The only exceptions are females raising offspring. They live with their kittens until they reach adulthood, teaching them hunting and other useful skills for independent living.

Far Eastern leopards differ from their southern counterparts only in their thicker fur, since they have to face harsher weather conditions. This is not surprising, because the habitat of these predators is in the southwest of Primorsky Krai and on the Russian border with China.

The area in which they live wild cats, dictates its own conditions: the forests and mountainous terrain of the Far East force the leopard to be very mobile and dexterous. The spotted predator can jump to a height of at least 5 meters to drag its prey up a tree, the weight of which can be twice its own.

Toshiji Fukuda: The Amur tiger is more careful than the leopardJapanese wildlife photographer Toshiji Fukuda, in an interview with the Far Eastern Leopards ANO, spoke about his first meeting with the Far Eastern leopard, why it is more difficult to photograph a tiger, and about his future project.

Leopards move with ease not only through trees. Territories with rugged terrain, hills with steep rocky slopes are their native element, so these cats can be considered natural climbers.

Historically, leopards also lived on the Korean Peninsula, in the eastern provinces of China and the southern part of Sikhote-Alin (Primorsky Krai). The reason for the decrease in the population of spotted predators was the destruction of habitats, a reduction in food supply, poaching and the development of infrastructure in the region. Currently, these cats are the rarest subspecies of leopard, with about 80 individuals living in the wild and more than 200 predators in zoos around the world.

The restoration of the Far Eastern leopard population in Russia began in 2011, it was then that an autonomous non-profit organization Far Eastern Leopards, whose supervisory board is headed by Sergei Ivanov, special representative of the president Russian Federation on environmental issues, ecology and transport.

The main goal of the Far Eastern Leopards ANO is the study, conservation and restoration of the spotted population. In 2012, by decree of the government of the Russian Federation, it was formed in Primorye. And in 2013, an amendment was made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, providing for criminal punishment for illegal hunting, keeping, transportation and sale of especially valuable wild animals, including the Far Eastern leopard.

Concern for the conservation of the leopard is shown both in Russia and abroad. In the Red Book of the Russian Federation, it belongs to category I as a rare, critically endangered subspecies with an extremely limited range, the main population of which is located within Russia. The Far Eastern leopard is also included in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and in Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Species wild fauna and endangered flora (CITES). Leopard hunting has been prohibited since 1956.

Usually, when people hear the word “Amur leopard,” images of the African savannah immediately appear in their heads. But few people know that the homeland of this subspecies is precisely Far East our country and North China. That is why it was called “Far Eastern”. Although in zoology this species of animal is known under a completely different name, namely the Amur leopard or Amur leopard.

Peculiarities

Currently, the Far Eastern leopard population is in a rather critical condition. Although in the last century in the Chinese provinces, as well as in Korea, these animals lived in large flocks. Besides this Amur tiger is one of the rarest felines. Unique feature What sets them apart from other predators is their keen intelligence. Even being very hungry, they will never attack a person (although you need to be very careful with this animal, it is a powerful predator).

In addition, the extinction of a species is influenced not only by humans, but also by its activities. For example, for the sake of building new highways and households, large areas of forest are destroyed, and along with them animals and all vegetation. Therefore, it is urgent to take measures to preserve the Amur leopard. Indeed, in the near future it may completely disappear. So, at Beijing University, scientists conducted an experiment to calculate how many Far Eastern leopards still live in the wild. The result was simply amazing. As it turned out, there are only 80 representatives of this species left on the entire planet.

Description

The Far Eastern leopard belongs to the cat family, but at the same time is very different from them. According to eyewitnesses, their appearance the animal simply fascinates at first sight. Nature has endowed the leopard with a slender and fairly elongated body. It is worth noting that in adulthood, the body length of representatives of this species can reach up to 140 centimeters. They also have a long, straight tail. It is he who plays an important role during the jump, namely to perform cool maneuvers. According to scientists, the tail of the Amur leopard is one of the longest among the cat family. According to statistics, its length reaches one meter. An interesting fact is that in addition to strong paws, it also has a fairly strong neck. This is what allows him to grab and drag a victim that is almost twice the size and weight of himself.

In most cases, males have more weight than females. For example, an average-sized man can weigh about 50 kilograms, while a female is only 40 kilograms.

Another interesting point that concerns the Far Eastern leopard is the change in the intensity of fur color. This phenomenon can be observed when the seasons change. For example, in summer it has a brighter and more intense color than in winter. All this helps the leopard to camouflage itself perfectly depending on the season.

Far Eastern leopard - interesting facts about the habitat. Representatives of this species for settlement in most cases choose regions in which large areas occupy forests, as well as moderate temperature And natural precipitation(rain, snow). These predators inhabit one of the remote areas of the Primorsky Territory, not far from the border of the Russian Federation and China.

It is worth noting that the Far Eastern leopard does not have a nomadic lifestyle at all. After all, by their nature they are conservatives, which means that they live where they immediately settled. Moreover, they even go the same route.

Activity and social organization

In general, representatives of this species are “nocturnal, solitary hunters.” They never go hunting during the day. It is worth noting that they appear at the watering hole only at dusk.

The Amur leopard feeds on roe deer, hares, deer, badgers and even Himalayan bears. It is very difficult for the prey to hide or even escape from this predator. After all, besides high speed, he also has fairly good, sharp eyesight and knows how to climb trees.

Offspring

The female carries the babies for 12 weeks. During this period, she carefully prepares and arranges the place where the children will see the light. In total, from 1 to 5 kittens are born.

A newborn Amur leopard weighs only 500-700 grams. Like all representatives of the cat family, they are born completely blind. I begin to see clearly only on the ninth day.

The female releases her cubs into the world only 2 months after birth. At this time, the female regurgitates semi-digested meat for them, then they begin to eat the prey brought by the mother.

The life expectancy of the Far Eastern leopard is 15 years.

Currently, most representatives of this species do not live in the wild, but in nurseries and protected areas. The Far Eastern leopard is listed in the Red Book.