World's Rarest #Cat Doubles in Population Size

Feb 23, 2015

by Jennifer Viegas

The world’s rarest cat, the Amur leopard, is increasing in number, according to new census data that found there are now 65 to 69 of these big cats in the wild versus 30 reported in 2007.

The increase, which doubles the Amur leopard’s known population, shows that conservation efforts in Russia and China — where the animals live — are working. “Such a strong rebound in Amur leopard numbers is further proof that even the most critically endangered big cats can recover if we protect their habitat and work together on conservation efforts,” Barney Long, who leads Asian species conservation for World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the U.S., said in a press release.

He added, “There’s still a lot of work to be done in order to secure a safe future for the Amur leopard, but these numbers demonstrate that things are moving in the right direction.”

Staff at Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park conducted the census, which also involved the work of researchers at the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, The Amur Leopard Center and WWF-Russia.

The survey found that 57 of the leopards are in the Land of the Leopard National Park, while an additional 8 to 12 leopards live in adjacent areas of China. The park, which was established in 2012, extends across nearly 650,000 acres and includes all of the leopard’s known breeding areas. “The national park became the main organizational force for leopard protection and research,” said Yury Darman, who is head of WWF Russia’s Amur Branch and a member of the Supervisory Board of The Amur Leopards Center.
 
The good news about Amur leopards comes on the heels of the first video evidence of wild Amur tigers in China. This footage, captured by a camera trap and released by the WWF, was taken almost 20 miles from the Russian border late last year. In the past, tiger footprints were the only indicators of Amur tigers in China.

Darman and colleagues next hope to establish a nature reserve that would cover the big cats’ territory in both China and Russia. It would be a challenge, requiring the support of both countries, but could lead to even more progress in the fight to save these majestic animals.

Photo: An Amur leopard. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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