Amur Leopard
By Kylie Kuwada
Wednesday 7, 2018
Summarize Description and Ecology of Organism
The Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is one of the eight subspecies of leopards.
Its range of habitat is from Far East Russia to Northeast China. This solitary,
nocturnal cat is listed critically endangered by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These beautiful leopards have large legs and
wider paws that are adapted to navigate through snow. They also have long,
dense hair that makes a warm, beautiful coat in the frigid climate. Amur
leopards are strictly carnivorous and prefer a diet of roe deer, sika deer, and
hare. By the age of two or three, the Amur leopard has reached reproductive
maturity. They are known to live to twenty-one years old in captivity, and ten
to fifteen years old in the wild. As of
2016, there were 30-40 wild Amur leopards and 170-180 in captivity. The Amur
leopard is a predator in its temperate habitat and it is very important to
protect these animals.
Geographic and Population Changes
The Amur leopard is located in Far East
Russia and Northeast China where the climate is temperate. They prefer a
habitat with broadleaf and mixed forests. In 2007
the Amur leopard population was known to be about 30 individuals. As of 2016,
there has been 60 individuals recorded. The population seems to be on the
incline.
Listing Date and Type of Listing
The IUCN considered the Amur leopard Critically Endangered in 1996. However, all
leopards on the IUCN red list are vulnerable. The Amur leopard was also
included in Convention of International Trade and Endangered Species (CITES)
Appendix 1. This prohibits the commercial trade of the Amur leopard.
Cause of listing and Main threats to the Amur Leopard’s continued
existence
There a many different threats to the Amur leopard from habitat
destruction, overexploitation, and gene flow. The Amur leopard’s habitat has
been encroached by urbanization. Roads are being built fragmenting their
habitat, and villages surround the leopards. There is also a lot of logging of
the forests that are home to the Amur leopard.
This not only disrupts the leopards’ habitat, it makes them easily
accessible to humans. The villages depend on the deer and hare for food, and
the consequence is that the leopards are losing their prey. The decline in
their prey from the exploitation of hunting is directly affecting the leopards.
Not only do the villages hunt the leopard’s prey, they also poach the leopards
for their fur. The Amur leopards fur will sell for around $500 to $1000 dollars
each. As their populations decrease, the genetic diversity among the species
also decreases. This is a huge threat to their population because low genetic
diversity makes the leopards more susceptible to disease.
Description of Recovery Plan
The IUCN does not have a specific plan for
the Amur leopards, but the species is protected under CITES Appendix 1. The IUCN
has a reintroduction project under way for the Amur Leopards in Russia.
Leopards are nationally protected in most of their range. The Amur leopard’s
habitat was protected by Russia in 2012. They declared 650,000 acres as the
Land of the Leopard National Park as a way to protect the leopard’s habitat and
breeding grounds. There are many
organizations that are fighting for the Amur Leopard. The World Wildlife Fund and the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance are conservation groups that run projects to help protect the leopards.
The Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance have worked with the Russian government to
promote conservation programs. They have also lobbied to stop the building of
pipeline and mines that would encroach on the leopard’s habitat. Efforts are
underway to protect the Amur leopard’s prey populations and protect the prey
from being overexploited.
What can you do?
Organizations such as the
World
Wildlife Fund and the Amur
Leopard and Tiger Alliance seek donations from generous supporters. The
donations go to funding conservation projects to help protect the Amur
leopards. Supporters can also buy a stuffed leopard and it is considered
“adopting” a leopard.
Another
way to support and protect the Amur leopard is to support anti-poaching
efforts, help reduce logging of the habitats, and spread knowledge. The more
people who are aware of how endangered the Amur leopard is, the closer we can
become to saving these beautiful leopards.
Other resource
Check out these websites to donate or learn more!
Citations
“Amur Leopard.” Our Endangered World, 12 Nov.
2013, www.ourendangeredworld.com/species/land-mammals/amur-leopard/.
“Amur Leopard.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund,
www.worldwildlife.org/species/amur-leopard.
Bove, Jennifer. “What Is the Amur Leopard?” ThoughtCo,
www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-the-endangered-amur-leopard-1182000.
“Panthera Pardus .” Panthera Pardus (Leopard),
www.iucnredlist.org/details/full/15954/0#conservation_in_place.
Platt, John R. “Amur Leopard Population .” Scientific
American Blog Network, 24 Feb. 2015,
blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/amur-leopard-population-booms-8230-to-57/.
Citations of Pictures
“Amur Leopard.” Our
Endangered World, 12 Nov. 2013,
www.ourendangeredworld.com/species/land-mammals/amur-leopard/.
“Amur Leopard.” WWF,
World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/species/amur-leopard.
Dorrie. “Follow the Piper.” AMUR LEOPARDS, 1 Jan. 1970,
piperbasenji.blogspot.com/2013/07/amur-leopards.html.
Leopard Fur-Skins JPG,
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leopard_fur-skins_3.JPG.
Malcolm Allison H malcolm.mallison@gmail.com. “Amur Leopard
Photo.” Cinabrio Blog,
cinabrio.over-blog.es/page/33.
“Wildlife Health Monitoring.” ALTA Conservation,
www.altaconservation.org/gallery/wildlife-health-monitoring/.
It's so sad that these gorgeous animals are being hunted and killed for the very thing that makes them so beautiful. I love the idea of symbolically adopting an Amur leopard and having a little stuffed animal to represent it. - Samantha Jones
ReplyDeleteI can see how urbanization and growth of villages has led to population loss of the Amur Leopard. In addition, it is no surprise that logging has affected this amazing species. The idea of adopting a Amur Leopard seems like a great idea because it makes getting involved really easy. -Allie Jones
ReplyDeleteThese animals are so beautiful! It's good to know that 650,000 acres in the Land of the Leopard National Park protects the leopard’s habitat and breeding grounds. - Chloe Knowd
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see that the population of Amur Leopards was up from 30 individuals to 60 individuals in 2016. I am hopeful that this number has gone up again since then. I am saddened to know that they are poached and their fur is traded for anywhere from $500 - $1,000. This is especially sad because faux fur can be made that looks just the same. It is important to identify the end-user demand and take away the status value that fur holds. Despite all of this, I am happy to hear that the IUCN has a reintroduction plan, and that Amur Leopards are nationally protected by Russia as of 2012. - Melanie Jenkins
ReplyDeleteIt makes me upset to see such a beautiful creature thought of as a resource for commercial trading. I think more and more people would care about this problem if they were just made aware. I believe the WWF could do the best job of spreading this knowledge. -Sam Korff
ReplyDeleteIm glad that Russia is helping to protect the Amur Leopards Habitat. While it is not surprising, it is horrible that these animals are hunted for their fur. People need to reconsider the animals that are affected when building roads and homes! I agree that the more that people know about these creatures and the situation they are in, the more likely they are to help. - Courtney Koyama
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that there are conservation efforts for not jus the endangered species, but the prey species as well. It is important to consider these aspects of the leopard's survival along with protecting habitat range. -Shea Irwin
ReplyDeleteIt's incredibly sad how much human life interferes with the lives of so many creatures. Thankfully they are on the incline, which is great so that future generations can continue to learn about these animals. -Jennifer Jaing
ReplyDeleteThe picture you included of the pelts layered on top of each other to make a rug was really saddening. It is a true shame that we exploit these beautiful animals he way we do. I think the best action is informing and educating the public on the severity f these issues.- Carolyn Inglis
ReplyDelete