The Far Eastern leopard is divided into three types:Korean, Amur and Manchu. Many scientists consider it to be one of the most beautiful species of leopard. It combines beauty, grace, cunning, strength, flexibility and agility. How sad it is to realize, but these handsome men are on the verge of extinction. Today there are no more than 30 individuals in the wild, and about 300 animals live in the zoos of the United States, Russia and Europe.
The Far Eastern leopard inhabits the territoryChina, and also in the Far East. Due to the fact that this species is on the verge of extinction just like a black leopard, hunting for it is prohibited by law. For poaching in Russia, a fine of 500,000 rubles is to be presumed, and imprisonment for 2 years. In China, for the murder of a leopard, the death penalty is applied.
The northern subspecies prefers the Manchu foreststype, with watersheds, hills, rocks. Weight is 50 - 70 kg, body length - 110 - 140 cm, tail - about 90 cm - that's what the Far Eastern leopard looks like. Photos of these handsome men can only be made in nature reserves and zoos. In the wild they practically do not occur. In summer, the hair cover reaches only 2.5 cm, and in winter leopards dress in luxurious fur coats, the length of the nap reaches 6 cm.
These cats have excellent eyesight, they can seedistance up to 1.5 km. They do not complain about hearing and smell, therefore leopards are recognized as one of the most skillful hunters. In search of food predators come out after dark. The main food ration is a roe deer and spotted deer, for want of a better one also there is a hunting for the Manchurian hare, a raccoon dog and a badger. The Far Eastern leopard either attacks from an ambush, or sneaks up to the victim. He walks quietly, avoiding dry branches. He prefers to walk on stones, roots or tracks of game.
This representative of the cat does not get used tolong hunger strikes. One adult deer or roe deer is enough for a leopard for a fortnight, if hunting is not asked at all, then a predator can last for 25 days. The Far Eastern leopard is by its nature a loner, only in the mating season he is looking for a pair, this period is necessary for January. After a three-month pregnancy, small spotty kittens appear. The female arranges for them a den in crevices, caves and other secluded places. Small leopards stay with their mother for up to two years, together they hunt game. Sexual maturity of large cats reach 2.5 - 3 years.
Previously, the main reason for the reductionFar Eastern leopards were their incompatibility with tigers, but now this problem seems not so serious. In the extinction of this species, the person, first of all, is to blame. Because of the massive poaching shooting left so few leopards. Not the least role was played by the violation of the habitat. Forestry works, forest fires, laying of railroads and highways - all this could not but affect the number of Far Eastern predators. In connection with human activities, the number of ungulates has significantly decreased, namely they are the main food for leopards. All this slowly but very true leads to the death of these beautiful animals.
