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Fast Facts:

Amur Leopard

Conservation

Habitat loss, loss of natural prey species, poaching. "Although it [the Amur leopard] has successfully adapted to the area over centuries, available habitat is getting smaller and people less tolerant of its presence. Like the Florida panther in the United States, the Amur leopard has been forced into a corner that is shrinking by the day." (Quigley)

Efforts to save Amur leopards in the wild:
"In the past, only individuals living in the 18,000 hectare [44,478 acre] Kedrovaya Pad' Reserve were safe. To safeguard this population from loss upon emigration into adjacent areas, the 100,000 hectare [247,100 acre] Barsovy Special Nature Reserve was recently increased to augment the existing reserve (Pikunov & Korkiskho-1985)." (Shoemaker 39)

In Russia, "only 3 protected areas, Barsovy Wildlife Refuge, Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve and the newly created (1996) Borisovkow Plateau Zakaznik now contain leopards" (Shoemaker, et al 3).

In Jilin Province, China - "Despite the dangerously low populations of tigers, leopards, and their prey, there is much reason for optimism. There remain extensive tracts of forest lands in northern" counties that are well managed by the Ministry of Forests. ("Tigers & Leopards in Jilin Province, China").

There are numerous challenges in protecting the Amur leopards in their native range – problems related to poaching, international borders and jurisdictions, habitat loss due to uncontrolled wild fires, etc. (Shoemaker, et al 12-13)

Efforts to save Amur leopards in captivity:
There are nearly 200 Amur leopards in the captive population worldwide. Many of the animals are in European zoos. The European population is managed by Europaeisches Erhaltungszucht Programme (EEP), an organized captive breeding program.

Unfortunately the captive population of Amur leopards comes from only 9 wild-born founders. Therefore, several of the animals are considered "highly inbred" (Shoemaker, et al 5).

"Because compatibility problems have been an issue in some pairings, techniques involving assisted reproduction may be useful in the future and if the opportunity presents itself...." (Shoemaker, et al 5) The Amur leopard captive breeding program suggested plans include a proposal to capture some wild Amur leopards to place in zoos to provide additional founders from the wild (Shoemaker, et al 10-11). Reintroduction programs have been discussed, but no animals will be released into the wild until better protection can be provided for the wild population (Shoemaker, et al 10)

Special Features

• Leopards can often be found resting or feeding on a kill up in trees.
• The name Amur (pronounced "ah - MUHR") refers to the region where Amur leopards are found in the wild – near the Amur River in eastern Asia.
• The Amur leopard is also sometimes called the Far Eastern leopard, the Manchurian leopard, or the Korean leopard.
• The typical leopard coat pattern consists of black spots and "rosettes" on a golden background. The cats typically have small spots on the head, larger spots on the legs and abdomen, and rosettes on the back, flanks, and upper limbs. The coat color of wild Amur leopards often changes to a lighter color in the winter.
• The leopard's coat provides camouflage. Rudyard Kipling said of the leopard in "How the Leopard Got its Spots" from Just So Stories: "Now you are a beauty!" said the Ethiopian. "You can lie out on the bare ground and look like a heap of pebbles. You can lie out on the naked rocks and look like a piece of pudding-stone. You can lie out on a leafy branch and look like sunshine sifting through the leaves; and you can lie right across the center of a path and look like nothing in particular."
• Amur leopards are strong swimmers. They also can run at speeds over 35 miles per hour for short periods. Leopards have tremendous agility and can easily climb trees. They also have exceptional leaping abilities and can jump 10 feet vertically and 20 feet horizontally.
• Leopards are adapted for their carnivorous diet. They have large, powerful jaws and long, pointed canine teeth to help them grab and hold their prey. The premolars in the back of their mouth have surfaces specially designed for shearing and chewing meat and are referred to as "carnassial" teeth. They also have sharp, pointed papillae on their tongue to help them remove meat from bones. (These papillae give domestic cats a sandpaper-like feel to their tongues.)

  The differences between leopards and jaguars;

  Jaguars (Panthera onca) are native to Central and South America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. Generally speaking, jaguars are "stockier" in appearance and usually heavier than leopards - average weights for jaguars are 120-240 pounds. Jaguars and leopards differ slightly in coat patterns. Jaguars have smaller black spots within the rosettes on their coat pattern. The jaguar, like the leopard, is an endangered species.

  Melanistic leopards are leopards with a black background coat color. Melanistic leopards do have spots, they are just difficult to see. Melanistic leopards or jaguars are sometimes referred to as black panthers.

Social Structure and Behavior

Social organization & behavior:

Like many large cats, Amur leopards are primarily solitary animals and mark their territories with urine. Leopards typically hunt alone and kill their prey by quietly stalking it or by ambushing it. Leopards often drag their kill up a tree where they can feed out of the reach of other predators or scavengers. They may also hide their prey in a tree and return to feed on it later. Leopards are primarily nocturnal (active at night).

Breeding & care of young:

Sexual maturity typically occurs at 2.5 to 3 years of age. Females have an estrous cycle of about 46 days and are sexually receptive ("in heat") for a few days during the cycle.

The breeding season for Amur leopards in the wild usually occurs in January and February, and gestation lasts 90 to 105 days. Leopards may give birth to litter of 1 to 6 cubs, but litters of 2 to 3 cubs are more typical. Cubs are born in a den area and weigh about one pound at birth.

Leopard cubs typically open their eyes at 10 days of age. The cubs usually start to follow their mother out of the den at 6-8 weeks of age. They are normally weaned at about 3 months of age. Cubs usually leave their mother at 18-24 months of age.