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Hi, fellow Steemiters,

People always thought leopard is confined in the Savannas, but there is a rare breed of subspecies of this magnificent creature which can be found in the Eastern Russian. This sanctuary will now adopt this animal as the first occupants of this fantastic virtual zoo. Introducing, Panthera Pardus Orientalis or better known as the Amur leopard.

This animal has been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as "critically endangered" in the red list. There are only 26 at most, number of this particular creature living in the wild in the year of 2007. They can be found mostly in Russia, Korean Peninsula and China.

Regarding physical appearance, when we compare this animal with the member of its subspecies, they have a much thicker fur covering spots. The space between rosettes which can be found on the flank area of this animal is 5 cm x 5 cm wide with blackened centres and thick unbroken rings. During the winter, Amur leopard would have a cream-coloured, pale coat which would give an advantage to them in terms of camouflaging for predation. They are smaller in terms of size when compare with the other leopard subspecies with females smaller than males.

On average, they measured about 136 centimetres with a metre tail long. Their shoulder was 78 cm off the ground, and they weight about 23 to 48 kg depending on a few factors including gender. Their leg is quite long and a bit slender when compared with the other leopard to walk through the deep snow during the winter.

Habitat and Distribution

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Before 1970, Amur leopard can be found throughout the Korean Peninsula and northeastern China which includes Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. This animal was also observed in Russia, but after 1970, their population plummeted resulting in 80% reduction of its original number. Now, less than 60 individual of this species can be found in the small area of Primorsky Krai Province which is located between the Chinese border and Vladivostok of Russia. In China, the number of Amur leopard found was less than 12 while in Korean Peninsula, the last ever recorded capture of Amur Leopard was back in 1969 when it was found lingering around the Odo Mountain located in the Gyeongsang Province.

Between China, North Korea and Russia, there is a river which is equipped with a high and long wire fence to mark the boundary between these three countries. Despite the aforementioned fact, some leopards crossed the river which sometimes being photographed by camera traps. There is nothing that can stop their animalistic instinct from migrating to the other country if it will guarantee their survival. Some of the leopards were seen in the Myohyangsan Nature Reserve in Hyangsan County located in North Korea back in 2009.

This particular animal is threatened due to hunting, poaching, habitat loss from urbanisation and agricultural development. An effort to raise this animal in captivity and reintroduction must be made meticulously to ensure the continuity of this species.

Behaviour

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This animal is crepuscular, meaning it active during the twilight, a period between dusk and dawn. Their hunting activity seems to start just an onset before dusk until the early morning of the next day. During the day, they are usually sleeping, hide, being sedentary in a cave or thickets. They prefer to live solitarily and often hide their kills to avoid being stolen by another predator. There is no reason to stay in a herd or being with a female unless that particular female bores his offspring. They might be the father but the worst husband ever.

They seem to be overly concern with the geographical aspect of their own territory. Usually, the area which is governed by an Amur leopard doesn't overlap with each other; if there is, it would be minimal. The area covered can be as vast as 116 sq mil but that generally depends on multiple factors such as sex, age and the size of its family (if they have any). This territory would be the main ground for them to hunt for food and rest. The area generally located in the river basins which could extend up to the area's natural topographical borders. When the density of the population is low, every leopard holds a large territorial range which can be up to 39 sq mi.

In the 1990s, a study to determine a favourable spot for an Amur leopard has revealed one particular key prey which would determine the location of this animal. The prey was deer, and the location of the nest established by the female leopard and its cub usually is near to the deer farm. Deer are relatively abundant which make hunting for food easier if they stay in close proximity to the deer farm to survive. This animal can run up to 60 km per hour; it's not as fast as cheetah which can outrun a leopard at a 100 km per hour, but it is sufficient to chase down their prey.

Reproduction

An Amur leopard can reproduce when it reaches 10-15 years of age. Generally, a female leopard would show some sign of receptive sexual behaviour (in another word, horny) for 18 days. Successful conception would result in pregnancy (Duh) and the gestation period in this animal would take about 95 days before they gave birth to a cub. The newborn cub can't open its eyes yet until the 7th day, and they will start to crawl by the age of 15 days. They will begin to hunt and eat meat by the age of 3 months, but they will continue to lactate until the age of 6 months. They will become independent by the age of two years and in captivity, this animal is able to live for 21 years. The age of a wild Amur leopard is not known.

Threats

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There are a few reasons why this animal is on the brink of extinction:

• Poaching: Poaching is an illegal hunting activity. Amur leopards were killed for their skins and fur which can be sold at 1000 USD in 1999. This animal is usually killed by the local Russian who stayed near to the favourable leopard habitat which is closed to the deer farm. This Russian usually have no license for the gun they owned and the hunting activity itself. In 2003, seven skins were confiscated, one in China and six in Russia, as they were obtained through poaching.
  
  
• Deforestation: This is the primary threat to the existence of this species of leopard. Setting fire to the forest and field can result in the degradation of this particular species natural habitat. This can also potentially reduce the number of deer farm which has been the source of food for this particular creature.
  
  
• Human's Project: This would impose the same negative consequences with deforestation activity. Amur leopards would lose their habitat and potentially their food sources. There are a few projects which have been cancelled due to the pressure from environmentalist and the Ministry which concern with the degradation of the natural habitat of some animal, of them being Amur leopards. This includes a project to build an oil pipeline from the Siberia to the sea of Japan.
  
  
• Inbreeding: This can be as a result of genetic degeneration. As the diversity between this species is not remarkable, it was suspected that Amur leopards have been facing the inbreeding problems for decades. This genetic degeneration can yield a cub with congenital problems which die shortly after birth; without proper care, their survival is almost uncertain.

Conservation Effort

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Some conservation organisations have started an initiative called the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliances (ALTA) to secure the fate of both Amur leopard and Amur tiger in the Far East Russian and Northeast China. This initiative operates with the belief that only by cooperation and coordination of conservation effort from all interested parties can save these two critically endangered species from the most horrible fate of all, extinction. At the same time, the World Wildlife Fund has been cooperating a few authorities and local communities to save Amur leopards by ensuring, long-term conservation of their natural habitat. There are a few steps which have been taken to ensure the continuity of Amur leopards:

• Promote anti-poaching campaign in all of the localities near to this natural animal habitat
• Collaborating with TRAFFIC (wildlife trade monitoring network) to enforce domestic and international regulation on Amur leopard's skin products
• Increasing the population of deer and wild boar by releasing some in the Amur leopard habitat to rebuild loss population
• Reducing illegal logging practices

References and reading materials

• World Wildlife Fund. Amur leopard. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/amur-leopard
• World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Panda. Amur leopard. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/amur_leopard2/
• ALTA. Amur leopard. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://www.altaconservation.org/amur-leopard/
• Wikipedia. Amur leopard. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_leopard