Thursday 23 June 2011

Amur Leopard -- A Solitary Hunter

amur leopard

Scientific Name: Panthera pardus orientalis

Habitat: temperate forests

Location: Russian Far East and Northern China

Population: Fewer than 40 individuals

The Amur or Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a subspecies of leopard and rates one of the world's most endangered big cats, with merely 2540 individuals making it in the eastmost regions of Russia. In the 19th century, the reach of the Amur leopard covered from southeast Russia, through Northeast China, and into the Korean peninsula. But after decades of home ground demolition, poaching, and hunting of its prey , the Amur leopard has been restricted to a small sherd of its previous range .

leopard

The Amur Panthera pardus is an rarity among leopard species . Unlike its relatives who populate the warm savannahs of Africa, the Amur leopard is well accommodated to the cold mountain home grounds of Russia's Far East. The Amur leopard has long limbs that enable it to walk through deep snow. When the seasons turn cold, the Amur leopard casts off its shorter, gold coloured coating in favor of a longer, lighter coloured coating which provides it with supplied insulant and camouflage .

The Amur leopard lives in the forests of the Sihote Alin Mountain Range where practically of the year it takes on deep snow and coarse moods. It relies on roe deer, sika deer, wild boar, musk deer, and little mammals such as rabbits and badgers for its solid food provision.

Female Amur leopards maintain home ranges that range in size from 15 to 38 square miles, while males can have territories as large as 155 square miles. They hunt mainly roe and sika deer, hares, badgers, mice, and other small animals.


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