Amur Leopard

Amur Leopards, or Panthera pardus orientalis, are a subspecies of leopard that lives in the temperate forests of the Russian far east. Amur Leopards are extremely agile animals. They can run at almost 37 miles per hour, jump almost 20 feet high, and leap about 10 feet vertically. Amur Leopards are solitary hunters that will hide their food from other predators. Some males stay and help raise young. Amur leopards weigh about one pound at birth. They’re eyes stay closed for a week after birth and they don’t begin to crawl for about 15 days. Some Amur Leopard cubs have stayed with their mother for almost two years. Amur Leopards can grow up to 54 inches long and 31 inches across the shoulders.

Amur Leopards are endangered mostly because of habitat loss and poaching. This leads to a lack of genetic variation which can also badly affect an animal’s population. In the late 1900s, 80% of the Amur Leopard’s original habitat was destroyed because of logging, forest fires, and destruction of forests for farms. Not only did this affect the Amur Leopard, it also affects its prey. Because of this, and poaching, there is not enough prey to sustain Amur Leopards and other big cats like tigers. When these leopards don’t have enough prey in their home environments, they will start hunting nearer to deer farms and are killed by the farmers. Poaching is another big problem affecting the Amur Leopard. Amur leopards are often hunted for their spotted fur. The shrinking amount of livable habitat is also making it easier for the Amur Leopard and it’s prey to be poached. Another problem facing the Amur Leopard, that is caused by habitat loss and poaching, is how few Amur Leopards are left. Because there are so few leopards left, they are extremely susceptible to diseases. A single bad disease or environmental catastrophe, like a particularly bad forest fire, could wipe out the entire population of Amur Leopards. Illnesses could affect these leopards particularly badly because of how little genetic variation there is. Because of the small population, the leopards are subject to inbreeding. Inbreeding exposes cubs to health problems and diseases. All of these are reasons why there are only around 84 Amur Leopards left.