31 Jan 2007 - Primorye, Russia – With less than 40 remaining
in the wild, a new census is under way to check the status
of the critically endangered Amur leopard.
Conservationists from WWF-Russia, the Wildlife Conservation
Society and the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy
of Science will search for snow tracks of the elusive wildcat
over an area of 5,000km2 in Russia’s Far East and parts
of China.
“We hope this census will confirm that there are more leopard
numbers than we think there are,” said Yury Darman, Director
of WWF-Russia’s Far Eastern office. “We hope we can preserve
a sustainable population of more than 50 individuals.”
In the lead-up to the census, researchers have discovered
at least four litters of leopards in the region.
“This is the first time in the last five years that we
are seeing an increase in the leopard population,” Darman
said. “This is a good sign.”
The last survey of the Amur leopard in 2003 counted about
30 individuals.
“The area and quality of the leopard’s habitat has changed
for the worse,” said Dmitry Pikunov, with the Russian Academy
of Science and coordinator of the 2007 Far Eastern Leopard
Census.
“We need to conduct a regular census in order to better
understand the situation, determine how many animals are
left, how they are distributed, and the number of young,”
he said. “With this information we can develop a new conservation
strategy.”
WWF is supporting anti-poaching activities throughout the
leopard’s habitat in the Russian Far East. In addition to
monitoring the leopard population and its habitat, WWF is
implementing programmes to stop the illegal trade of Amur
leopard skins and parts.
END NOTE:
• The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) — also
known as the Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard or
the Korean leopard — is listed as “critically endangered”
under IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, and is listed
on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Appendix
I includes those species which are threatened with extinction
and are, or may be, affected by international commercial
trade. These species may not be traded internationally for
primarily commercial purposes.
Elena Starostina, Press Officer
WWF-Russia (Far East Branch)
