Endangered species : Amur Leopard

Common name : Amur Leopard

Scientific name : Panthera pardus orientalis

Size
- Adult males: 70 - 105lbs, exceptionally large males weigh up to 165 lbs.
- Females : 55 - 95 lbs.

Color
- Light color in the winter, more reddish-yellow in the summer.

Habitat
- Temperate Broadleaf
- Mixed Forests

Location
- South of the Far East-Primorskii region (Russian Far East)
- Tzilin and Heilundzyan Provinces (Northern China)

Recent numbers : Less than 40

Why Amur Leopard is endangered ?

There are various factors that contributed to the declining numbers of Amur Leopard :

Poaching
Poachers kill Amur Leopard for its fur . Since 2002, skins or corpses of nine Amur Leopards killed by poachers have been found in Russia and at least two other leopards of the same species have been killed in China.

Deforestation
As a result of frequent fires, the forests in which Amur leopards depend on have subsequently disappeared. This fire is mostly originated by the villagers to stimulate the growth of ferns that are a very popular ingredient in the Russian and Chinese dishes.

Inbreeding
Loss in the genetic diversity in the small and isolated population of Amur leopard may cause inbreeding depression, the reduced in the numbers of an animal populations due to reduced reproduction and lifespan and increased vulnerability to diseases. However, the result of the research is so far inconclusive and the information regarding the effects of inbreeding is needed to be collected and analyzed before arriving at a conclusion. The Amur leopard have young every two years.

Development projects
The location of Southwest Primary located close to the Russian borders along with China and Korea, making it an attractive area for infrastructure projects new railways, gas and oil pipelines and ports. The Zoological Society of London and other ALTA partners led a successful international campaign in 2005 and 2006 against a plan to build an oil pipeline terminal on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the leopard’s range.


Sources :
i. http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/amur_leopard2/
ii. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_leopard