Definition of Common Terms
How Climate Change is a Factor
In reading about critically endangered animals for 2019, the first to top our list is the Amur Leopard. But before I dig into why the Amur Leopard is critically endangered and what readers can do to assist them, let’s discuss what it means to be a “critically endangered species”. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Endangered Species Coalition, critically endangered species are those animals that will be affected most by short-term climate change.
Critically Endangered
And while climate change does play a very important role in critically endangered species, the actual definition of “critically endangered” is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. Moreover, there are differences between an endangered species and a vulnerable/threatened one.
Vulnerable or Threatened
The IUCN considers a species threatened if the population is vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. A species is considered endangered if the population faces a high risk of extinction. Vulnerable/Threatened – These are species that face a high risk of extinction, but not for many years. So what does it mean when an animal species goes extinct? Being an extinct animal occurs when there are no more individuals of that species alive anywhere in the world – the species has died out. Now that we have established the differences, let’s move on to our featured animal right after the snapshot below.
Critically Endangered Species for 2019
#1 is The Amur Leopard
The Amur Leopard (aka Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard or the Korean leopard) is a solitary, strong, and nimble-footed animal, which carries and hides unfinished kills so that they are not taken by other predators. Their diet consists of roe deer, sika deer, badgers and hares. Amur leopards normally hunt at night and need large territories to avoid competition for prey. Their hunting style is to silently watch their prey and then ambush them using speeds of up to 37 miles per hour. This is very similar behavior for most of the large cats.
Amur Leopard Habitat
Amur leopards live in the Russian Far East, in the temperate forests that make up the northern-most part of their range. They can also be found in North East China. The Amur leopard is adapted to the cool climate by having thick fur which grows up to 7.5 cm long in winter. For camouflage in the snow, their coat is paler than other subspecies and the Amur leopard’s rosettes are widely spaced and larger than those seen on other leopards. These leopards have adapted to experiencing harsh winters with extreme cold and deep snow, as well as hot summers.
Amur Leopard Stats
Amur leopard males generally weigh 70-85 lbs., but can weigh up to 110 lbs. Females are smaller than the males at 55-75 lbs. These leopards measure 25-31 inches at the shoulder, 42-54 inches long. Amur leopards reach reproductive maturity between the ages of two and three years. For breeding, females first breed at an age of 3-4 years. After a gestation period of around 12 weeks, cubs are born in litters of 1-4 individuals, with an average litter size of just over 2. Amur leopards in zoos show some evidence of breeding seasonality with a peak in births starting the end of March through May and weigh a little over one pound at birth. Like domestic cats, their eyes remain closed for about a week and they begin to crawl 12 to 15 days after birth.
Astonishing Amur Leopard
The Amur leopard is an incredible animal that has been reported leaping more than 19 feet horizontally and up to 10 feet vertically! Another astonishing report claims some males stay with females after mating, and may even help with rearing the young! Amur leopards live for 10-15 years, and in captivity up to 20 years. Amur leopards are the rarest big cat in the world and as of 2019, there are only 84 left in the wild. There are another 170 – 180 living in captivity.
Reasons for Endangerment
Amur Leopard Poaching
There are numerous reasons these beautiful, large cats are critically endangered including: Poaching of both leopards and prey species is a serious threat. Forests in Southwest Primorye are relatively accessible, the area is more densely populated than most of the Russian Far East, and Russia has a hunting culture both for sport and for food. The two main cities of Primorski Krai – Vladivostok and Ussurisk – are only two or three hours’ drive away, so the leopard’s range holds some of the most popular hunting grounds for city residents.
Dwindling Species
Inbreeding: With a population that dwindled to 35 individuals only a few decades ago, this is the only big cat with international approval to be considered for reintroduction using captive-bred Amur leopards.
Environmental Factors
Forest fires: These are a direct threat to Amur leopards as they reduce the animals’ natural forest habitat, replacing it with grasslands that leopards prefer to avoid.
Human Encroachment
Development: Southwest Primorye is located close to the Russian borders with China and North Korea, making it an attractive area for infrastructure projects such as new railways, gas and oil pipelines and ports. In 2005 and 2006 ZSL and its local partner, Phoenix Fund led a successful international campaign against a plan to build an oil pipeline terminal on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the range of both the Amur leopard and tiger.
Virus Contracted
Disease: Diseases such as Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), are threatening the isolated and vulnerable Amur leopard population. We are working with scientific partners to understand exactly how this disease is contracted by leopards and its origins.
Conservation Efforts Taken
Leopard Park Established
So what is being done to help protect this amazing animal? I researched a number of initiatives, some that have since concluded and a few that are ongoing. The following efforts are being made to protect the Amur Leopard. World Wildlife Fund, “Amur leopards received a safe haven in 2012 when the government of Russia declared a new protected area. Called Land of the Leopard National Park, this marked a major effort to save the world’s rarest cat. Extending nearly 650,000 acres it includes all of the Amur leopard’s breeding areas and about 60 percent of the critically endangered cat’s remaining habitat.”
Reduction of Logging Practices
In addition, conservationists have been successful in “reducing illegal and unsustainable logging practices and facilitating trade between companies committed to responsible forestry practices. In 2007, WWF and other conservationists successfully lobbied the Russian government to reroute a planned oil pipeline that would have endangered the leopard’s habitat.”
Implementing Conservation Programs
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has established anti-poaching teams and environmental education programs to increase appreciation for the leopard among local communities within the leopard’s range. WWF also implements programs to stop the traffic in Amur leopard parts and to increase the population of prey species in the leopard’s habitat such as the 2003 Forest Conservation Programme in the Russian Far East Ecoregion Complex, the 2007 lobbying effort to reroute a planned oil pipeline, and the 2012 establishment of a large refuge for Amur leopards, tigers, and other endangered species.
ALTA Conservation Efforts
The Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA) works in close cooperation with local, regional, and federal organizations to protect the region’s biological wealth through conservation, sustainable development, and local community involvement. They maintain four anti-poaching teams with a total of 15 members in the Amur leopard range, monitor the Amur leopard population through snow track counts and camera trap counts, restore leopard habitats, support ungulate recovery, and run a media campaign to create awareness about the Amur leopard’s plight.
Reintroduction Project
WVI has been working on the veterinary aspects of efforts to save the Amur leopard for well over a decade. In 2015 Russia approved a plan to reintroduce captive bred Amur leopards to the wild. This exciting development is the culmination of many years of hard work by Russian and international conservationists. WVI will continue to play a critical role in the program.
Winter Olympic Games 2014
Fire-fighting teams and anti-poaching brigades have been established in the Amur leopard’s habitat. Education and outreach programs are encouraging local people to value their forests and the amazing wildlife found in them. Compensation schemes are in place to help farmers who lose livestock to leopards. Better land management and population monitoring methods are now in place. And a leopard was one of the mascots chosen by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for the winter Olympic games in Sochi in 2014.
Veterinary Support
However, the Amur leopard’s future is far from certain and Wildlife Vets International continues to work hard to provide the veterinary support necessary, both for the existing wild leopards to survive and also for the reintroduction plan. The hope is that the first captive leopards selected to take part in the plan will arrive in the Russian Far East in 2017.
Disease Control
Good disease control is vital to the project’s success. Our Veterinary Director, Dr. John Lewis, has taken part in essential wildlife health monitoring work in the Russian Far East over many years, in cooperation with WCS-Russia and ZSL. This has allowed us to build up a picture of the disease risks to leopards and how best to mitigate them, as well as providing an opportunity to train local vets and conservationists at the same time.
On a final note, I’d like to share a picture of an Amur Leopard and a Snow Leopard, these leopard species are not the same.
Amur Leopard Snow Leopard
I’d like to express my sincerest thanks to the following organizations for their information, support, pictures, and videos: (WWF) World Wildlife Fund, the ICUN International Union for Conservation of Nature, (WCA) Wildcats Conservation Alliance, (ALTA) The Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance, (WVI) Wildlife Vets International, (WCS-Russia) Wildlife Conservation Society – Russia, (EEP) European Endangered Species Program, and of course, YouTube/Google.