[FEL-L] Amur leopard close to extinction, survey finds

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

Amur leopard close to extinction, survey finds
Only a few dozen found; Russian official talks of better protections
 
 
 
Updated: 12:42 p.m. ET April 18, 2007

MOSCOW - A survey released Wednesday by Russia and conservation groups found 
few Amur leopards remaining in the wild, with conservationists concluding that 
logging, building, farming and poaching have virtually killed off the 
species. 
There are only 25 to 34 of the graceful animals still living in the wild, the 
World Wildlife Fund said at a news briefing in Moscow to report on the 
census. At least 100 would be needed to guarantee the species' survival. 
"The numbers are very disappointing and the long-term prospects are that they 
will not be able to survive unless urgent measures are taken," said Igor 
Chestin, head of WWF in Russia. He said he had hoped to report at least 35 
leopards. 
Oleg Mitvol, the head of Russia's state environmental watchdog, told the 
briefing he wanted to unify three protected areas where the leopards live. 
That might result in better control of hunting of the leopards' prey and stem 
the encroachment of towns and farms on their habitat. 
This year the Russian government changed the route of a planned oil pipeline 
to avoid slicing through the area.  
The Amur leopard has longer legs and fur than other leopard species, allowing 
it to prowl and hunt with ease in the snowy eastern fringe of Siberia. 
"Everybody thinks this is a truly beautiful animal," Michiel Hotte of the 
Zoological Society of London said. "It has a long, pale coat and stands very tall 
which makes its movements very elegant and beautiful." 
The Amur leopard used to roam freely around the Korean peninsula and 
northeast China but farms, villages and roads have eaten away at its forest habitat 
where it hunts for deer, hare, badgers and small rodents. 
Chinese medicine substitutes crushed leopard bones for tiger bones in some of 
its remedies, creating demand for the cat. 
Hotte said at the beginning of the 20th century there were several thousand 
Amur Leopards. 
The animal shares its natural habitat with the stronger Amur tiger, whose 
numbers have soared from near-extinction in the 1940s to around 600 today. 
Hotte thought the Amur leopard could also still make a comeback. "It has been 
resilient for several years at these levels already," he said. 
WWF organized the census in February and March this year with the Wildlife 
Conservation Society and members of the Russian Academy of Science. 
_http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18177055/_ 
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18177055/) 




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