AMUR LEOPARD

Panthers pardus orientalis

This beautiful animal is found in temeprate forest ranging from Amur River valley of Siberia to Manchuria, Korea.

The Amur leopard is a solitary and nocturnal animal and has adapted to living in cold, snowy climates with their long legs and hair as well as living in regions with summer temperatures from 77 to 95 degrees. The hair is a light hue in winter and a reddish-yellow hue in the summer. The rosette spot patterns are widely spaced and are large with thick borders, usually having no spaces between the spots. This cat can run at speeds of 37 miles per hour for short periods of time.

Conservation: The Amur leopard is listed as an endangered species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and as an Appendix I species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIE. There is only 30 remaining.The ongoing threats these animals face are habitat destruction, population decline of prey species, fur trade and trophy hunting.

It is a creature that we must fight for to keep its rightful place on Earth, it is a creature of such magnificence and plays a vital role in the temperate forest of Russia.

Peace,

Dana

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Beautiful photos Bee.

  You're a

Sending lots ofand to say  for being you!

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Great photos and great information.  The Amur tiger is a endangered as well.  There is dispute among scientists regarding whether it is a distinct sub-species or not.

From Edinburgh zoo's website:

Undoubtedly, Amur tigers are one of the most impressive animals at Edinburgh Zoo. Watching our adults – Yuri, from Germany, or Moscow-born Sasha, our young mother – as they climb with grace and power around their enclosure, you can see why they are a predator to be feared even by brown bears, which they are known to have killed and eaten.

However both Sasha and Yuri have shown their softer sides in the past when they have had litters of cubs. Sasha would tolerate her offspring's playful attacks and mock battles as they learnt the skills so necessary for survival in the wild.  

Even Yuri would put up with the cubs disturbing his rest as they “stalk” his tail. In their natural habitat of oak and birch forest around Russia’s Amur River, he would have moved on, likely to mate with another of the females within his territory.

Sasha and Yuri have had two litters of cubs at Edinburgh Zoo. The first litter of three females were born in february 2000 and the second litter was born in march 2003. All six cubs have been moved on to others zoos throughout Europe as part of the conservation breeding programme.  

The future of this tiger subspecies, like its cousins from warmer climates of southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, is precarious. Although there is a successful conservation breeding programme, in the wild there are severe threats. The habitat is being lost to the growth of agriculture, prey species (mainly deer and boar) are becoming scarce and poaching (profit comes mainly from the trade in body parts for traditional oriental medicine) is still rife.

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The Amur Leopard is listed as an endangered species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and as an Appendix 1 species under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of wild Fauna and Flora.

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Thank you Pat, everything went a bit all over the place! So sory if it looks confusing!

Thanks for the update on the zoo. Yeah I found some beautiful phots of the amur Tiger too, was getting distracted all the time! ........

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In case people weren't already aware of this.  Signatures still being collected even though past it's end date.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/542398780

There has been some discussion on the Race for Big Cats group. Here's the link http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=121&pst=98833

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