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  Yahoo News 23 Apr 07
Hunters kill one of last Amur Leopards

WWF 18 Apr 07
Far Eastern leopard still on the brink of extinction

Yahoo News 18 Apr 07
Scientists say Amur leopard close to extinction
By Tanya Mosolova

Yahoo News 18 Apr 07
WWF urges Russia to set up reserve for endangered Amur leopard

The green group WWF Wednesday urged the Russian government to set up a national reserve in the country's far-east to protect the endangered Amur leopard.

According to the last survey carried out by Russian and American scientists, between 24 and 35 leopards remain in their natural habitat spread over three reserves located near the Chinese border and along the Amur river.

"Instead of three reserves where the nearby human presence constitutes a menace for the survival of the fauna, the Russian government can set up a national reserve spread over 200,000 hectares," Igor Tchestine, head of the WWF's Russian chapter told a press conference.

"Zoos have several hundreds of Amur leopards and these could be set free," there, he said.

Amur leopards are indigenous only to eastern Russia and China and are targetted by poachers.

A female leopard fetches up to 50,000 dollars (36,000 euros) while the penalty for killing one is only 20,000 roubles, said Oleg Mitvol, the number two at the Russian ecological watchdog Rosprirodnadzor.

"In China there are only a handful of Amur leopards left," he said. "All the body parts of the female are used for making medicines -- even whiskers and teeth."

Yahoo News 18 Apr 07
Scientists say Amur leopard close to extinction
By Tanya Mosolova

Logging, building, farming and poaching have virtually killed off the Amur Leopard, environmentalists said on Wednesday.

There are only 25 to 34 of the graceful animals still living in the wild, WWF said at a news briefing in Moscow to report on the results of a census of leopard numbers in Russia's Far East. At least 100 would be needed to guarantee the species' survival.

"The numbers are very disappointing and the long-term prospects are that they will not be able to survive unless urgent measures are taken," said Igor Chestin, head of WWF in Russia. He said he had hoped to report at least 35 leopards.

Oleg Mitvol, the head of Russia's state environmental watchdog, told the briefing he wanted to unify three protected areas where the leopards live. That might result in better control of hunting of the leopards' prey and stem the encroachment of towns and farms on their habitat.

This year the Russian government changed the route of a planned oil pipeline to avoid slicing through the area.

AMAZING GRACE

The Amur leopard has longer legs and fur than other leopard species, allowing it to prowl and hunt with ease in the snowy eastern fringe of Siberia.

"Everybody thinks this is a truly beautiful animal," Michiel Hotte of the Zoological Society of London said. "It has a long, pale coat and stands very tall which makes its movements very elegant and beautiful."

The Amur leopard used to roam freely around the Korean peninsula and northeast China but farms, villages and roads have eaten away at its forest habitat where it hunts for deer, hare, badgers and small rodents.

Chinese medicine substitutes crushed leopard bones for tiger bones in some of its remedies, creating demand for the cat.

Hotte said at the beginning of the 20th century there were several thousand Amur Leopards. The animal shares its natural habitat with the stronger Amur Tiger, whose numbers have soared from near-extinction in the 1940s to around 600 today.

Hotte thought the Amur leopard could also still make a comeback. "It has been resilient for several years at these levels already," he said.

WWF organized the census in February and March this year with the Wildlife Conservation Society and members of the Russian Academy of Science. The result was similar to previous counts in 2003 and 2000. (Additional reporting by James Kilner)

WWF 18 Apr 07
Far Eastern leopard still on the brink of extinction

Vladivostok, Russia/Gland, Switzerland: A new census of one of the world's most endangered cat, the Far Eastern or Amur leopard, shows that as few as 25 to 34 are left in the wild, renewing fears for the future of the species.

In February and March, WWF, the global conservation organization, along with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Pacific Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Science, conducted a routine snow-track census of leopard numbers.

"The recent census confirmed once again that the Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) survives on a very shaky edge," said Pavel Fomenko, biodiversity conservation programme coordinator at the Far-Eastern branch of WWF-Russia.

Mr Fomenko said encroaching civilization, new roads, poaching, exploitation of forests, and climate change had contributed to the leopards' plight. "From my perspective," he said, "the leopards' exact number is not the main question. What is really important is that the predator is on the brink of extinction. And still a unified protected area with national park status has not been established, which is the most important thing for the leopards' survival."

At least four leopard litters were encountered during the census. This is a good sign because it means that the population is not completely depressed and is still able to restore itself. But for long-term survival, at least 100 animals are needed.

"Conservation of large predators needs vast territories with minimal anthropogenic changes, which is difficult," said Dr Dmitry Pikunov, the coordinator of the 2007 leopard census and head of the laboratory of animal ecology and conservation of the Pacific Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Science.

According to Dr Pikunov, a mature leopard needs 500 square kilometres of habitat with good forests and high and stable amounts of ungulates, including deer. Two to four female leopards would live in the same amount of land, reproduce and nourish their cubs.

"Maybe this is the reason why leopards practically completely disappeared from the Korean Peninsula and north-east China," said Dr Pikunov. "At the beginning of the past century, the Far Eastern leopard was a common species in the southern parts of Sikhote-Alin and in some Khanka lake areas. Right now it roams only in south-west Primorye."

About 5000 square kilometres of land in the south-west Primorye region, close to the border between Russia, China and North Korea, were transected for the census and tracks left by the leopards in the snow were counted.

Scientists were able to determine the number of the leopards by examining the shape, size and patterns of the tracks as well as determine the direction and time of the animals' movement. In all, 35 field workers took part in the census, working in more than 158 transected sections.

"The snow track census is an important method to monitor leopard numbers. We see that its population has been balancing on the edge of survival for many years," said Dr Dale Miquelle, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Russia programme and coordinator of the previous census in 2005.

"But to understand the reasons, we should research the ecology of the predator in a more profound way, using latest techniques such as automatic camera traps, radiotracking, genetic and veterinary research."

The census 2007 found 7-9 male leopards, 3-7 females without cubs, 4 females with cubs, 5-6 cubs in all, and 6-8 undefined tracks. Total: 25-34. This compares with 9 males in 2003, 7 females without cubs, 4-5 females with cubs, 4-5 cubs in all, and four undefined. Total: 28-30. In 2000, the results were 4-5 males, 8-9 females without cubs, 1-2 females with cubs, 1-3 cubs in all and 8-9 undefined. Total: 22-28.

Yahoo News 23 Apr 07
Hunters kill one of last Amur Leopards

Hunters in Russia's Far East have shot and killed one of the last seven surviving female Amur leopards living in the wild, WWF said on Monday, driving the species even closer to extinction.

Last week environmentalists said there were only between 25 and 34 Amur leopards -- described as one of the most graceful cats in the world -- still living in the wild. At least 100 are needed to guarantee the species' survival which depends upon female leopards breeding.

There are more male leopards in the wild than female because cats tend to breed males when under stress, WWF said.

"Leopard murder can only be provoked by cowardice or stupidity, in this case most likely by both," Pavel Fomenko, WWF's biodiversity coordinator in Russia's Far East said in a statement.

A hunter shot the leopard through the tail bone. It tumbled over and was then beaten over the head with a heavy object, WWF said.

Amur leopards have not been know to attack humans.

Environmentalists have urged the Russian government to introduce tighter controls on its national parks in the Far East to crack down on leopard hunting. They also want more done to protect the animal's natural environment and food supply, which they say is being destroyed by human development.

A local wildlife watchdog received an anonymous tip-off that a leopard had been killed. State wildlife officers found the dead animal after a day of searching. The leopard died on either April 15 or April 16, WWF said.
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