The UK-based Wildlife Heritage Foundation (WHF) is focused on saving the Amur leopard before it becomes extinct. With anywhere from only 30 to 40 of these felines left in the wild, it is extremely important to maintain the 100 or so kept in captivity.
The Amur Leopard Breeding Programme is literally a lifeline to the remaining population of the species.
Specifics of the Programme
WHF maintains a breeding facility in Kent. Currently, they are keeping two male Amur leopards, Artur and Artem, in the hopes of obtaining a pair of females for breeding purposes. There is a dire shortage of females so this may be difficult, but not impossible.
It is necessary to first increase the wild population of the Amur leopard. There are steps being taken to start a new population in close geographical relation to the species’ native habitat.
As the breeding pairs reproduce, the brood will be introduced to this new area to encourage genetic diversity.
Conservation Efforts
The hope is that the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance (ALTA), through their conservation strategies, will aid WHF in finding females for the breeding programme.
The international consortium of ALTA is currently working to protect the leopards from poachers, educating the public about the Amur leopard’s plight, and providing compensation to local villagers who lose livestock due to wild predators such as tigers and leopards.
A danger to the leopards’ native habitat of the densely forested Russian Far East region of Primorskii Krai is the purposeful setting of fires. Local villagers who use native ferns for cooking often set fires to encourage the growth of ferns through reduction of the forest canopy. Conservation efforts include the use of satellite imaging to find burning trees and extinguish the fire before further devastation of the forest occurs.
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is also working to aid the cause of the Amur leopard. The Society is the recipient of a three-year grant offered by the Darwin Initiative Fund. The funds will be used for onsite screening and monitoring of the health of the existing Amur leopard population and attempting to prevent disease from taking more of the species’ numbers. This initiative is being performed in conjunction with Russia’s wildlife authorities and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
The WHF Amur Leopard Breeding Programme is an important part of the current conservation efforts supported by a number of international coalitions. Its success depends on protecting this endangered species now.
Find out more about the Amur Leopard Conservation Efforts and just how endangered Amur Leopards are.