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Amur leopard conservation in Russia
The Amur leopard is ten times more endangered than the Amur tiger. These beautiful cats are now found only in the forests of southwest Primorskii Krai in the Russian Far East, and it is estimated that only about 30 are left in the wild.
© Rob DolaardThe remaining leopards live, alongside Amur tigers, in a corner of Primorskii Krai that is bounded by the sea on one side and the border with China on the other.
It is an area of rich biodiversity, with temperate forests and a beautiful coastline, but it also contains more people and more potential for economic development than other parts of the Russian Far East. The leopards used to range further north, into parts of the Sikhote Alin Mountains, but are now cut off from returning there by human development.
ZSL is part of the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA), an international coalition that administers more than half the tiger projects in Russia. ALTA’s conservation strategies for Amur leopards include protection from illegal hunting and habitat destruction, awareness programmes with local villages and compensation schemes for deer farmers.
As part of this programme, ZSL’s Michiel Hötte works closely with local NGO Phoenix on the design and implementation of anti-poaching patrols, fire-fighting strategies and schools programmes.
Fires set by humans are a particular problem and threaten to reduce the forests to grassland habitat unsuitable for leopards and tigers. It is possible to monitor the fires very precisely using satellite photos, and at present our resources are concentrated on the core area of the leopards’ range, where we can reduce burn by up to 2/3 each year.
ZSL co-ordinates the European/Russian conservation breeding programme in zoos, in partnership with Moscow Zoo. There are over 100 Amur leopards in our zoos and they are a vital resource for conservation in the wild, through education, fundraising, research and 'the genetic lifeboat'.
In order to make the most of this resource, ZSL provides the ALTA Amur Leopard Programme website, which supplies reports, news items and pictures from Amur leopard projects to supporters, including zoos. Zoos around the world have provided a significant proportion of the funds so far spent in the field.
Until 2006, though, little had been done to address wildlife disease risks, or to begin preparing for the establishment of a second population of Amur leopards on a separate site inside their historical range. Reintroductions of large carnivores are very rare, and for good reasons.
To address these needs, ZSL has obtained a three-year grant for Amur leopards and wildlife health in the Russian Far East from the UK’s Darwin Initiative Fund.
Working in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Russia and the Russian wildlife authorities, our vets are assisting Russia to set up and run a wildlife health monitoring service for the province.
The project is providing veterinary training, renovating and equipping a diagnostic laboratory, and collecting samples from wild and domestic carnivores and leopard prey in order to set a baseline for future disease monitoring work.
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ALTA Information Sheet 2008 (1.2 MB)- ALTA News 2007 (803 KB)
