The Far Eastern leopard is one of the most beautiful specimens of the cat family. It is precisely because of the attractive dyeing of the hair that this type of cat is a good prey for poachers. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, an elegant predator was found in the Amur and Ussurian regions, North-Eastern and Eastern China and the Korean Peninsula, and now the habitat of leopards stretches within the Primorsky Krai and China.
At present, the number of leopards in the Far East does not exceed 40. Taking into account the number of this cat species, the leopard is listed in the Red Book of Russia and the International Red Book. Since 1956, it was decided to ban the hunting of predators, and in China the killing of animals is still punishable by death.
This type of leopard is a beautiful, flexible cat with an elongated body and powerful legs. Depending on the season, the woollen cover in summer is no more than 2.5 cm, and in winter, the thick, lush wool reaches 7 cm by summer, and the color becomes brighter than in winter.
The unique coloring is distinguished by clear special spots in the form of sockets. Each individual of this species has its own unique pattern, according to which biologists and researchers distinguish cats among themselves.
Leopards prefer rocky and mountainous terrain to their habitat. Like most predators, they prefer to hunt in cloudy weather or a couple of hours before sunset until midnight. The prey is ungulates, hares, wild dogs, hazel grouse and even insects.
The sizes of males and females of leopards differ, males can reach a body length of 140 cm, tail - 90 cm, and weight - 70 kg, females have a total weight up to 50 kg. Leopards live in the wild for about 10-15 years, while in protected nature reserves they live for up to 22 years. Leopards reach sexual maturity at the age of 2-3 years, and the pregnancy of females lasts 3 months. Kittens open their eyes approximately two weeks after birth and are under the supervision of the female until her next heat.
After the kittens break up with their mother, the babies stay together until the end of the cold winter. Females can give birth every year and bring one to five kittens. But judging by the number of individuals for the current period, the survival rate of offspring is very low.
The decrease in the leopard population is also related to the reduction of the food supply due to burning and extinction of forests for infrastructure development. If poachers do not reduce the hunt for ungulates, which are the main food for predators, then soon the Far Eastern leopards will disappear completely.