The Amur Leopard is the world's rarest big cat. Wildlife conservationists estimate that there are only around 70 Amur Leopards in the wild. This makes them highly vulnerable to extinction. Currently, the Amur Leopard is a Critically Endangered species. The IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature), ranks species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The species are ranked in seven possible categories. These categories are:
. Of Least Concern . Near Threatened . Vulnerable . Endangered . Critically Endangered . Extinct in the wild . And, Extinct This list helps wildlife conservationists know which species are vulnerable to extinction and which are not vulnerable to extinction. In the instance of the Amur Leopard, we know that they are close to extinction, as they are critically endangered.
Why are they critically endangered?
Is there any hope for them?
There is hope because their numbers have been rising in recent years. At one point there were only 35 of them, today there is estimated to be 70 of them. They may still be critically endangered, but this offers hope for the future of the species. How are their numbers monitored? Their numbers are monitored by several methods. The modern method that wildlife conservationists use to monitor these species numbers is by using camera traps.
The camera traps either can photograph the leopard or record video footage of the leopard and then wildlife conservationists can work out how many of them there are.
The appearance of Amur Leopards
Their behaviour and eating habitats
How long do they live?
Where are they found? The Amur Leopard is found in China and Russia. They once were also found in places such as North Korea.