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| credit: WWF Russia* |
The beautiful and rare amur leopard appears to be increasing its numbers after a snow track census showed 48-50 individuals living in the new "Land of the Leopard" National Park and adjacent protected areas located in Primorsky Province. In 2007 only 27-30 leopards were recorded. The recently completed census also includes 4-5 cubs in the count. Leopards are spreading to new territory according to the tracking evidence.
[map] Leopards populated a new area north of the Krounovka River. The discovery is evidence the cats respond to human protection since the area in Poltavsky Refuge is now under proper control by new local authorities. Also, heavy snows and an abundant hare and roe deer population encouraged a mother and her cub to inhabit a river delta previously unused by leopards. The most wide-ranging leopard left tracks on the border of North Korea. No leopard has been recorded in this region for more than a century.
The leopard census was conducted following traditional methods including measuring print size and recording position while following transects, sometimes in difficult terrain with deep snow and drifts.
[photo: WWF Russia] Russian border guards provided census takers with valuable local support and knowledge of the remote region. The results are good news for a recovery program that started in 2001 to bring the amur leopard back from the brink of extinction. The crucial role in recovery played by large, connected reserves is obvious. 360,000 hectares of habitat is now protected in Russia. The next logical step is to establish a trans-national reserve that includes the Hunchun, Wangqing and Suiyang Nature Reserves in China were Chinese specialists believe 8-11 cats live. More good news is the fact that 23 Siberian tigers, double the number of five years ago, were found living among the leopard population. Biologists think the competing preditors co-exist in different habitat niches. The leopard's superior tree climbing skills trump the tiger's larger size and strength, but tigers do kill leopards on occasion. Declining prey numbers as predators increase in Primorye may become an issue for conservationists.
