Scientists managed to find out how many Far Eastern leopards remained in the world. Most of these beautiful Red Book cats live in Russia. 80 leopards is not enough, but Russian conservationists are doing everything to save the population, the press service of the Leopard Land National Park reports.
Scientists at the Land of the Leopard National Park and Beijing Normal University jointly analyzed the photomonitoring data of the Far Eastern leopard in Russia and China and learned that there are at least 80 Far Eastern leopards in the wild.
Previously, the Russian side had information about the life of these cats only in the country (about 70 leopards), but not in China. It was difficult to understand how many rare cats migrated from one country to another, and this made work difficult. Together with Chinese scientists, who had their own archive of information for three years of observation, Russian ecologists found that many cats actually moved across the border in both directions.
Recently, at the office of the Leopard Land National Park in Vladivostok, scientists exchanged some of the materials received during the monitoring. Comparison of leopard images revealed a lot of coincidence of individuals, which indicates the active movement of predators across the border. Counting unique animals showed that the global number of the Far Eastern leopard, according to data for 2014, is at least 80 individuals.
Photo: press service of the National Park "Land of the Leopard"
Employees of environmental organizations in Russia have long suggested that the number of Far Eastern leopards may be higher due to the Chinese part of the population. However, the border area of \u200b\u200bChina for a long time remained a "white spot" for scientists. Now everything will change for the better, since the leadership of the Leopard Land National Park and Beijing Normal University have signed an agreement on long-term cooperation. The first agreement between the two organizations involves the subsequent exchange of data on the number of rare cats near the border of the two countries, the press service National Park "Land of the Leopard" .
This agreement is a long-awaited event for us in the relations between the two countries, ”says Tatyana Baranovskaya, director of the FSBI "Land of the Leopard." “We are confident that it will make it possible to achieve great results both in studying and preserving the Far Eastern leopard population.”
Of course, the fact that the global number of the Far Eastern leopard turned out to be higher is great news, - said Sergey Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. “The appearance of a leopard in China is the result of many years of work by Russian experts, now we hope that our Chinese colleagues will support our undertaking, and by the efforts of two states we will be able to bring the Far Eastern leopard population in the wild to a stable level, protecting it from the threat of extinction.”
Also on the topic:
· Flashmob in Moscow. The return of the Far Eastern leopard
· Amur tigers and Far Eastern leopards began to be considered in the Primorsky Territory
-
Title: the name of the jaguar is supposedly derived from the word yaguara (jaguarete), which means "beast killing with one leap." Some tribes of the Indians of Amazonia, called the jaguar - iawa.
Panthera onca Latin translates as "catcher" and "thorn, spike" (meaning powerful claws of a jaguar).Area: North and South America (south of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Panama, El Salvador, Uruguay, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana).
Description: the largest wild cat of the New World. Externally, the jaguar is very similar to a leopard, but larger and heavier, and its head is larger. The limbs are short and powerful, which is why the jaguar looks squat. By the structure of the skull, the jaguar is closer to the tiger than to the leopard, but it is colored like the last one. The ears are rounded. The fur is thick and short. Females weigh 20% less than males.
Color: basic body color from sand to bright red ocher. The bottom (throat, stomach, inner side of the paws) is white. Spots are scattered along the body: solid, rings and sockets (they are slightly darker than the general background of the body). On the head and legs are black specks. On the tail, a pattern of ring spots and rosettes is visible (the wool inside is light). Ears are black outside, a yellow spot in the middle. There are also completely black individuals, outwardly similar to panthers.
The size: body length 150-180 cm, tail 70-91 cm, height at the withers 51-76 cm.
The weight: 56-150 kg, an average of more than 100 kg.
Life span: in nature up to 10 years, in captivity up to 25 years in captivity.
It can growl like a lion, and also rumbles and purrs. The voice of the jaguar resembles a hoarse barking cough or the sound of a sawn tree.Jaguar roar
Habitat: occupies various habitats (dense impenetrable forests, woodlands, steppe, coastal groves, reed beds). Prefers flat tropical rainforests with high humidity. The open plains covered with grass are avoided. He likes water a lot of time in water.
Enemies: the main enemy is man.Food: the diet of the jaguar is quite diverse - small and large vertebrates: birds, reptiles (caimans and alligators,), large rodents (capybaras), fish, primates, wild pigs, amphibians, deer.
Behavior: Jaguar is active at any time of the day. Usually goes hunting at dusk and moonlit nights.
Climbing trees well and deftly, but prefers to move on the ground. He loves water and, if possible, spends a lot of time in it. Swims great.
Most often, the jaguar hunts from an ambush that it arranges on the banks of ponds, in tall grass, on trees, on paths leading to a watering hole. Attacking the victim, jumps on his back, trying to knock it down, and grabbing the victim by the neck. The bite of a jaguar is so strong that it is able to bite through a cow's skull.
The jaguar is able to cope with the finish, which weighs up to 300 kg. It hunts fish from the shore, throwing it out of the water with blows of powerful paws. Monkeys are hunted in trees or near a watering hole. Never chases a victim if she starts to run away.
It starts to eat prey from the head, gradually moving towards the back. If the prey is large, the jaguar remains near it for some time. Carrion almost does not feed.
Social structure: Out of breeding season, the jaguar leads a solitary lifestyle. Territorial, the area of \u200b\u200bthe site is 25-170 km 2. The size of the hunting area depends on the landscape, the abundance of prey and gender. At one site (within its territory) the male lasts no more than 3-4 days, and then goes on. Extremely intolerant of other representatives of the cat family (for example, cougars), but at the same time loving to their own kind - the hunting sites of the jaguars often intersect.Breeding: the female informs the males about the onset of estrus, leaving urine marks on the trees. During weddings, jaguars gather in small groups. There are no fights between males, as the choice of partner depends entirely on the female herself. After her choice, she moves to the territory of the male and stays there for several days. Often, one female mates with several males.
For the lair, the female chooses a place among the stones, in the thickets of shrubs or in hollows of trees.
The female does not have oestrus until the calves remain with her.Season / breeding season: during the whole year.
Puberty: females in 2-3 years, males in 3-4 years.
Pregnancy: 93-110 days.
Progeny: in litter 1-4 spotted kitten. The cubs begin to exit the den at 1.5 months of age. At the same age, their mother begins to take them with them on a hunt.
Mortality among kittens is high, only 50% of young jaguars survive to two years.
The young live with their mother for two years, and then begin then begin an independent life.
Benefit / harm to humans: Jaguar is dangerous to humans, but most often attacks during defense. There is evidence that when meeting blacks and whites, he prefers to attack the former.
Easily tolerates captivity and multiplies in zoos.
It attacks livestock, which is why it is actively pursued by farmers.
Jaguars are hunted because of their beautiful fur.Population / conservation status: for most of the range, the jaguar is almost or completely exterminated.
The main threat to the species: poaching, habitat reduction.
View entered in IUCN International Red Book.
9 subspecies currently recognized Panthera onca, which differ both in size and in color and patterns on the body: P. o. onca - Amazonia, P. o. arizonensis - Mexico P. o. centralis - Central America, P. o. goldmani - Mexico, Belize, P. o. hernandesii - Mexico P. o. palustris - South Brazil P. o. paraguensis - Paraguay P. o. peruvianus - Peru, Ecuador, P. o. veracrucis - to Texas.
2 million years ago, a jaguar inhabited the entire south of the current United States. Currently, the species range has been reduced to one third of the original.
It interbreeds with a leopard and panther and produces hybrids capable of further procreation.Credit: Portal Zooclub
When reprinting this article, an active link to the source is MANDATORY, otherwise, the use of the article will be considered a violation of the "Law on Copyright and Related Rights".Guard Status: Endangered Species
It is listed in the Red Book of Russia and the Red Book
International Union for Conservation of Nature.Usually people thinking about leopards represent savannahs. Despite this, in the northernmost part of its range, a rare subspecies of leopards lives in the Russian Far East and northern China. Therefore, the subspecies is called the Far Eastern leopard, but it is also known as the Amur leopard or Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis).
The Amur leopard is listed in the Red Book of the International Protection Union (IUCN) and is classified as a subspecies on the verge of extinction. Due to the extensive loss of habitat and conflicts with humans, the Far Eastern leopard population is in critical condition. Nevertheless, the fact that his more famous cousin - - increased his population from less than 40 individuals 60-70 years ago, gives hope for the preservation of the subspecies. It is believed that the Far Eastern leopard can be saved from extinction due to the implementation of environmental projects.
Description
The Far Eastern leopard has a number of distinctive features from other representatives. Wool in summer reaches a length of 2.5 cm, and in winter it grows up to 7 cm. The color of the coat in winter is light, with shades of reddish yellow, and in summer it has brighter and more saturated tones. Unlike other subspecies, Amur has longer legs that allow you to walk in the snow. The weight of males varies from 32-48 kg, but larger individuals are also found, with a weight of about 60 kg. Females weigh between 25-43 kg.
Where does it live?
The Far Eastern leopard lives in temperate woodlands with a wide range of temperature conditions and rainfall. To date, the habitat of the Far Eastern leopard is about 5,000 km².
How many Amur leopards are left?
The amount of the last remaining viable subspecies population in the wild is estimated to be 20–25 individuals. Animals are located in a small area of \u200b\u200bPrimorsky Territory (RF), between Vladivostok and the Chinese border. In neighboring China, 7-12 individuals remained. In South Korea, the last record of a Far Eastern leopard dates from 1969, when it was caught on the slopes of Mount Oda in Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Historical distribution
The distribution of the subspecies was reduced to a small fraction of its original historical range. Previously, the Far Eastern leopard lived throughout the northeast of the Chinese "Manchuria", including in the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang, as well as on the entire Korean peninsula.
Social structure
The Far Eastern leopard prefers a nocturnal and solitary lifestyle. However, as you know, some males can remain with females after mating and even help with raising offspring. There are frequent cases when several males pursue the same female and fight for the right to mate with her.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Amur leopard puberty occurs at the age of 3 years. Life expectancy in the wild is 10-15 years, and in captivity - up to 20 years. The mating season of the Amur leopard falls in the spring and early summer. The litter consists of 1-4 cubs. Weaning from mother's milk occurs at the age of three months, and the cubs gain independence at 1.5-2 years and leave their mother to continue to lead a solitary lifestyle.
Diet
The basis of the diet of the Far Eastern leopard are raccoon dogs, roe deer, small boars, hares, sika deer, badgers.
Main threats
Between 1970 and 1983, the Far Eastern leopard lost about 80% of its original habitat. The main reasons were: forestry, fires and the transformation of agricultural land. Fortunately, not everything is lost. Today there are forests suitable for leopard habitation. These territories can be protected from harmful human influence and increase the population in the wild.
Lack of prey
In China, there are vast areas that are suitable habitat, but the level of food supply is insufficient to maintain the population at the required level. The amount of prey may increase due to the regulation of the use of the local population and the adoption of measures to protect ungulates from poachers. In order to survive, the Far Eastern leopard needs to re-fill its previous habitat.
Poaching and illegal trade
The Amur leopard is subjected to illegal hunting mainly because of its beautiful and spotted fur. In 1999, an undercover investigation team conducted an experiment: they recreated the skin of a female and male Far Eastern leopard, and then sold for $ 500 and $ 1,000, respectively, in the village of Barabash, near the Russian reserve Kedrovaya Pad. This experiment shows that there are illegal markets for such products near animal habitats. Agriculture and villages are surrounded by forests inhabited by leopards. As a result, access to forests appears, which makes poaching a more serious problem than in regions remote from people. This fact applies not only to leopards, but also to other animals that are being destroyed by local residents for food and money.
Conflict with man
Amur leopards are particularly vulnerable because deer are part of their diet. In the Far East of Russia, a decrease in the number of deer, due to the value of the horn in Asian medicine, prevents the leopard from getting enough food. Due to the decline in the deer population in the wild, leopards often wander into reindeer husbandry in search of food. Owners of these farms often kill leopards to protect deer.
Inbreeding
The Far Eastern leopard is also at risk due to the extremely small population in the wild, which makes it vulnerable to various “catastrophes”, such as forest fires, diseases, changes in fertility and mortality rates, sex ratios (for example, all cubs born may be males for several years), as well as inbreeding depression. Among these felines, family ties were observed and it is possible that this can lead to genetic problems, including lower fertility. Studies have shown that the average number of cubs in an adult female has decreased from 1.9 in 1973 to 1 in 1991.
Jaguar
Jaguar (Panthera onca) - a species of carnivorous feline mammal, one of the four representatives of the Panther genus (Panthera), which belongs to the subfamily of large cats. The only representative of the genus in the territory of North and South America. The third largest cat in the world and the largest feline in the New World. This species of predator extends from Mexico to the south to Paraguay and the north of Argentina.
The length of the body without tail is 120-185 cm, tail 45-75 cm, weight 36-113 kg, mainly 60-90 kg, in some cases up to 120 kg. The record in nature is 158 kg. The female is 20% smaller and lighter. An ordinary normal adult male of a large subspecies weighs about 90-110 kg, and a female 60-80 kg. The height at the withers is 68-76 cm, rarely up to 81 cm.The lifestyle of the jaguars is solitary. Like all predatory cats, jaguars are territorial animals; the area of \u200b\u200bthe territory of one jaguar takes from 25 (in females) to 100 square kilometers, depending on the landscape and the amount of game, as well as the gender of the beast. As a rule, the male’s hunting area is a triangle in shape. On its territory, the male hunts for 3-4 days in a certain area, and then moves to another site. In addition, the beast comes to certain “border points” every five or fifteen days. For this reason, the jaguar is a real tramp, constantly "staggering" in the selva. The jaguar is extremely intolerant of other felids (in particular, to cougars) on its territory, but is quite peaceful towards its relatives and the hunting territories of the jaguars often intersect.
Jaguar is a twilight predator. His most active hunting hours occur after sunset (from about 18:30 to 21:30) and before dawn (from 03:00 to 06:00). He often goes hunting on moonlit nights.
Its main prey is capybaras and ungulates like deer Mazam, bakers and tapirs, but it also attacks birds, monkeys, foxes, snakes, rodents. The jaguar also hunts turtles - its powerful jaws can bite their shell. It also digs tortoise eggs out of sand on the ocean coast, sometimes throws itself on sleeping alligators or snatches fish out of the water. The jaguar swims perfectly and rarely misses a victim who seeks salvation in the water so how he is the most indifferent of all cats to water and spends a lot of time in ponds.
The main method of hunting a jaguar is an ambush in tall grass or on a tree. Usually he sets up such an ambush on the shore of a reservoir in the grass or on paths leading to a watering hole. When attacking a victim, the jaguar, as a rule, jumps on it from the back or side, grabbing its neck. Most often, when attacking cattle, the jaguar seeks to knock down the victim, which is severely, and sometimes fatally, injured at the time of the fall. Unlike other large feline ones, the jaguar sometimes bites the skull of the victim. If the victim finds a predator and flees, the jaguar never pursues it.Brazilian hunters attribute to the jaguar the ability to hypnotize its prey. Having killed prey, the jaguar begins to eat prey from the head, gradually moving towards its rear. If the prey is large, the predator remains with her, satisfying the hunger in two steps, with an interval of 10-12 hours. It is characteristic that the jaguar almost does not feed on carrion, so it rarely returns to the remains of its victim.
On the hunt, the jaguar will make a low guttural grunt, and at night the mating season roars deafeningly.
There are very few cases of jaguar attacks on people, and even less unprovoked ones. Cannibalism among these predators is an exceptional occurrence. It is usually not aggressive, but rather curious and often chases a person through the forest without showing hostile intentions, but occasionally rushes at people. People who met unexpectedly the jaguar more often experienced a strange sense of reverence and some kind of surprise .Although people talked a lot about the bloodthirstiness of the jaguar, about his blind, indomitable thirst for killing, but these stories often turn into tales. The jaguar is not as scary as it is imagined, and a person should rather call himself a "natural born killer".
The jaguar does not have a specific breeding season. The female is ready for mating in the third year of life. Although the jaguar is a solitary animal, they can be collected in small groups during weddings. It is characteristic that there are almost no fights between males, and the choice of a partner completely depends on the female. After selection, the female moves to the chosen one's territory. The male remains with the female only for the period of mating.About 100 days after conception, in the den among the stones, in a dense shrub or hollow, the female gives birth to two or four cubs. Their pattern is more black than that of the parents, and it does not consist of outlets, but of solid spots. Young jaguars spend six weeks in the den, and they hunt with their mother until they find a suitable territory for hunting.
According to various sources, there are from 3 to 9 subspecies of the jaguar, of which at least 1 (Texas) is exterminated.
Hunting for a jaguar is strictly prohibited in all habitats except French Guiana, which ignores the convention for the protection of endangered species !!!
In captivity, the jaguar survives to 22-25 years.Known subspecies:
Panthera onca onca, living in the rain forests of the Amazon
Panthera onca arizonensis - in Mexico;
Panthera onca centralis - in Central America;
Panthera onca goldmani - in Mexico and Belize;
Panthera onca hernandesii - in Mexico;
Panthera onca palustris - in southern Brazil;
Panthera onca paraguensis - in Paraguay;
Panthera onca peruvianus - in Peru and Ecuador;
Panthera onca veracrucis - in Texas.The oldest remains of the jaguar date from about 2 million years ago. In those days, the jaguar inhabited the entire south of the current United States. Now the range of the jaguar has decreased to one third of the original.
The basis of his diet consists of ungulates - Siberian roe deer and sika deer, but sometimes the leopard can also eat small animals like a raccoon dog, badger or hare. It will not be difficult for him, since this animal has excellent hearing and vision. A leopard is capable of picking up very high sounds - with a frequency of up to 80 kilohertz (while a person hears only sounds with a frequency of up to 20 kilohertz). The spotted cat prefers to hunt at night, although it sometimes pursues prey in the afternoon.
Interestingly, despite its predatory nature, leopards do not attack livestock that can wander into their territory. However, you should not come to the reserve with your pets: caretakers warn that these cats are actively attacking stray dogs.
It is worth noting that the Far Eastern leopards are very peaceful, and in all history there has not been a single case of a predator attacking a person. And young individuals in an accidental encounter with a person are in no hurry to run away, studying him with interest.
The spotted color of each predator is unique like fingerprints in humans - according to it, scientists distinguish these cats from each other. A variegated (or camouflage) pattern covers the entire body, on the head and paws - single spots, and on the sides, back and tail, they form rings, the so-called rosettes.
In general, these cats prefer to live alone. Each leopard has its own territory through which the predator regularly moves to leave its marks. The exception is only females raising offspring. They live with their kittens until they reach full age, teaching hunting and other useful skills of independent living.
Far Eastern leopards differ from their southern counterparts only in thicker fur, as they have to deal with more severe weather conditions. This is not surprising, because the habitat of these predators is located in the south-west of the Primorsky Territory and on the border of Russia with China.
The terrain in which wild cats live dictates its own conditions: forests and the mountainous terrain of the Far East force the leopard to be very mobile and agile. A spotted predator can jump to a height of at least 5 meters to drag its prey onto a tree, the weight of which can exceed its own twice.
Toshiji Fukuda: Amur tiger is more careful than leopardJapanese wildlife photographer Toshiji Fukuda in an interview with Far Eastern Leopards ANO spoke about the first meeting with the Far Eastern leopard, why it’s more difficult to take a tiger, and about the future project.
Leopards easily move not only through trees. Terrain with a rugged topography, hills with steep rocky slopes - their native element, so these cats can be considered natural climbers.
Historically, leopards also lived on the Korean Peninsula, in the eastern provinces of China and the southern part of Sikhote Alin (Primorsky Territory). The reason for the decrease in the population of spotted predators was the destruction of habitats, reduction of food supply, poaching and development of the region’s infrastructure. Currently, these cats are the rarest subspecies of the leopard: about 80 individuals live in the wild and more than 200 predators in zoos around the world.
The restoration of the Far Eastern leopard population in Russia began in 2011, it was then that the autonomous non-profit organization Far Eastern Leopards was created, the supervisory board of which is headed by Sergey Ivanov, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for environmental protection, ecology and transport.
The main goal of the Far Eastern Leopards ANO is to study, preserve and restore the spotted population. In 2012, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation in Primorye was formed. And in 2013, an amendment was made to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for criminal punishment for the illegal extraction, keeping, transportation and sale of especially valuable wildlife, including the Far Eastern leopard.
Care for the conservation of leopards is shown both in Russia and abroad. In the Red Book of the Russian Federation, it belongs to category I as the rarest, endangered subspecies with an extremely limited range, the main population of which is within Russia. The Far Eastern leopard is also included in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and in Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Leopard hunting has been banned since 1956.