🐆 Endangered Amur leopard population increases to 130 individuals

• The Amur leopard population has grown from 25 individuals to 130 in Russia since the 2000s.
• Land of the Leopard National Park was created in 2012 and covers 72 percent of suitable habitat in Russia.
• Researchers' monitoring with over 200 camera traps shows the population is spreading across borders.

Population tripled since lowest level

The Amur leopard lives in the cold forests of southeastern Russia and northeastern China. It is one of the most threatened of the world's eight leopard subspecies. During the 20th century, the population dropped to approximately 25 individuals in the wild due to hunting for its spotted fur, forest fires, and conversion of land for farming.

Today, approximately 130 Amur leopards live in Russia according to a Wildlife Conservation Society report. Researchers' estimate from 2014-15 showed a global population of 84 Amur leopards. The latest figure of 130 individuals represents the highest density of leopards recorded during 10 years of rigorous monitoring.

Protected area crucial for recovery

Wildlife Conservation Society in Russia has collaborated with Land of the Leopard National Park since 2016 for monitoring and conservation work. Efforts to save the species date back several decades. Collaboration between conservationists and Russian agencies helped establish protected areas in the Primorsky Krai region since 1979, which halted the leopard's rapid decline according to WWF.

The Russian government created Land of the Leopard National Park in 2012. The park included all of the leopard's breeding areas and approximately 72 percent of suitable habitat on Russian territory. "It was only the creation of the national park that set the conditions for these cats to recover," says Aleksandr Rybin, large carnivore specialist for ANO WCS, to Mongabay.

Several factors helped the population recover gradually. The Sika deer, which is the leopard's main prey, also increased in numbers. At the same time, fire management improved, law enforcement was strengthened, and population monitoring was developed.

Monitoring with camera traps

With more than 200 camera trap stations, researchers have documented the population beginning to recover since 2014. A 2018 study in Conservation Letters showed that Amur leopards move extensively between Chinese and Russian borders. The study found that "38 percent of all leopards were observed in China, but only about half of those were observed exclusively in China."

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