The Amur Leopard(Panthera Pardus Orientalis)

A Disappearing Species

Amur LeopardMarkings/Coloring

•Summer Pelt Can be 2.5 cm

•Winter Pelt can reach 7 cm

•They are light cream colored in the winter

•They are reddish-yellow in the summer

•Wide Spaced rossettes set the apart from other leopards

•The have very long, sharp retratable claws

•They have extra long legs which may be an apadtation to walking in deep snow

Amur LeopardsSize

•Males weigh between 32-48 kg

•Females weigh between 25-43 kg

•Female Male

Amur LeopardsBehavior

•They are solitary hunters

•In some very rare occasions males helped raise cubs and stayed with female for life

•These animals are mostly nocturnal

Amur LeopardsPrey and Hunting

•Amur Leopards are predators and consumers

•Amur Leopards mainly eat the Roe Deer and the Sika Deer

•They also eat other small animals including rabbits, birds, snakes etc.

•Amur Leopard Hunting

•They will drink from anything possible

Roe DeerA Main Food Source

•They are relatively small animals

•Roe Deer have a reddish/grey-brown coat

•They are most active at twilight

•They live in forests but may go into fields

Sika DeerA Main Food Source

•Without human interferance these animals could be active all day

•They live in large herds in the winter/fall

•The rest of the time females live in groups but males are solitary

•Males may kill each other in fights for mates

Amur LeopardReasons For Population Decline

•A main reason for population decrease is habitat loss

•Another main reason is poaching

Poaching

•Amur Leopards are mainly killed for their pelts

•Their claws and body parts are sold for use in traditional medicine

•This pelt was found being sold for $500-$1000

Habitat Loss

•80% of the Amur Leopards original habitat has been lost from 1970-1983

•Main causes of this are logging, forest fires, and clearing land for farming

Amur LeopardsHabitat

•These animals live in the temperate forests of China and other parts of Asia

•The temperature of a temperate forest varies through all seasons

•Although the Amur Leopard does live in temperate forests it could adapt to any habitat with proper food and shelter

Amur LeopardsGone Forever?

•If these animals were to become extinct then its prey would probably become overpopulated causing the whole ecosystem to go out of balance

•We would lose another beautiful species

Amur LeopardCubs Are Coming

•The average Amur Leopard will mate when they are three years

•Cubs will stay with their mothers for one and a half years

•Amur Leopards can have 1-4 cubs at a time,

•Due to a smaller population inbreeding is becoming a huge problem for these animals

Amur LeopardsA New Hope?

•WWF is trying to convince goverments to tighten the laws for poaching, illegal logging etc.

•In 2007 an oil pipeline was moved by scientists that would have gone through a large part of their territory

How To Help?What can we do?

•Since habitat loss is such a big problem for these animals something very simple we can do is recycle

•Another way to help is simply raise awareness

SAVE THE AMUR LEOPARD!!!