The Amur leopard is found only in Far East Russia and northeastern China. They inhabit coniferous and deciduous forests and prefer areas with vast vegetation, steep hills, rocky outcrops and aquatic areas.  Over the past twenty years five leopard cubs have been born at the Zoo to help with conservation education efforts. The Amur leopard faces many threats including habitat loss due to land development, road construction, mining, fires and illegal logging. Other threats include disease, poaching, prey depletion from hunting and due to the very small wild population size inbreeding.

Special Report from the Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with financial support from the El Paso Zoo is currently conducting scientific research to improve our understanding of Amur leopards, working closely with Russian partners to improve wildlife and habitat protection across this sub-species’ range.

Ongoing work in 2020 includes:

Population monitoring projects in long-term study sites: In Land of the Leopard National Park (LLNP), a protected area that almost wholly encompasses the geographic distribution of Amur leopards, monitoring via camera trapping allows us to identify individual leopards by their unique spot patterns. Through this method, scientists can best monitor specific individuals over many years, estimate population density, and measure trends over time. We monitor intensively to ensure that we know immediately if there is a downturn in trends of leopards and also of their prey, which are a good proxy for the health of top carnivore populations. In addition to managing our own 792 square kilometer camera trap network within and along the fringes of the park, we are also coordinating data analysis and reporting from monitoring across the entirety of the 2,799 square kilometer protected area, as well as with Chinese partners just across the border in the adjacent Hunchun Nature Reserve.

Providing leadership and support to Russian conservation teams: Supporting local efforts ensures that quality, full-range population surveys continue in Russia via the use of relevant technologies. Through these partnerships, we can support suitable databases for long-term protection, making possible lasting conservation interventions in protected areas such as LLNP. Across Amur leopard territory, we will continue to bring new innovations to anti-poaching interventions, help reduce conflict between big cats and humans, educate communities on local big cat populations and ensure connectivity among big cat populations to maintain genetic diversity. Formal Agreements We recently updated our operational agreement with the LLNP to continue work within its borders, and will continue to coordinate and collaborate with both the Russian and Chinese governments.

In addition to our ongoing monitoring efforts in the long-term study area, we are increasing support to LLNP staff to ensure quality, full-range surveillance with suitable databases for long-term protection. We are providing guidance to evaluate long-term conservation interventions at the National Park and working to ensure that data is shared amongst relevant agencies within the Russian government. We recognize the many challenges and threats facing this big cat population and will continue to draw upon our scientific expertise, resources, and long-term presence to enact the greatest conservation impact. Through our collaborations with local communities and government, we will safeguard Amur leopard habitat, eliminate illegal poaching and human wildlife-conflict, and promote policies and sustainable management to protect these species.

We thank the El Paso Zoo for their support of these programs and count the Zoo as a valuable partner in our work learn more about these most elusive big cats.

Libby Del Greco
Senior Development Officer, Institutional Advancement
Wildlife Conservation Society
Partners in Field Conservation