Amur Leopard: Habitat, Reproduction, Mortality, Life Span

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It is a common notion that the leopards are only found in the savanna grasslands in parts of Africa. However, there is a rare subspecies that is highly adapted for the temperate forests called the Amur leopard. Unlike most of the other savanna leopards in Africa this subspecies is found in Russia towards the southeastern parts (ScienceDaily). It is also found in some parts of china especially in the northeast. It one of the rarest leopards remaining relative to the fact that, there is an estimated less than a hundred adults living in the wild. Making one of the most endangered species. It is a nocturnal creature, meaning that it hunts and night; it also hunts alone (Brakefield and Shoemaker). It can be distinguished from the rest of the leopards from the rosettes that are widely spaced and have thick black borders. Scientifically, the leopard belongs to the kingdom Animalia, phylum chordata, class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Felidae and it is referred to as Panthera Pardus subspecies Orientalis.
LIFE HISTORY
Distribution
Relative to the fact that the animal is endangered, the distribution of the same has been quite scarce across Asia and Russia. The distribution of the leopard has been reduced to a fraction of what it used to be. This is an animal that is largely adapted to the temperate forests and is mostly found in china and Russia (ARKive). In china, it is found in the northeastern part, especially in the Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. In some of the cases the animal has been to roam the Korean peninsula. In Russia, the leopard’s range has also been largely reduced (Ryan-Herndon). This is an aspect that started out in the seventies and has gone for decades until recently when the animal was considered to be endangered. In Russia more than 80% of the animal’s range has been lost. Most of the animals that have been documented in Russia are found Primorsky Krai Province and between the Chinese border to Vladivostok. It is estimated that the only surviving population is less than 60 animals occupying less than 5000km2.
Habitat
This is one of the aspects that have caused the decline in the animal’s population across Russia and China. As animals are constantly threatened by humans’ encroachment and frequent conflicts, the population of the animal has continually declined from the interactions. As mentioned earlier in the paper the leopard is highly adapted to live in the temperate forests mainly in the far eastern parts of Russia and the northeastern parts of china (ARKive). These are habitats that experience harsh winters with extreme cold (Uphyrkina). The forests are also characterized by deep snow and when the summers come they tend to very hot also. Even within the temperate forests, the leopard tends to favor places that have relative cover, for their ability to provide better hunting grounds (Bright Hub).
Reproduction
For the Amur Leopard, they tend to breed during the early summer periods and in the springs. Animals that are between the ages of two and three are on the onset of the sexual maturity and remain sexually reproductive even after they are ten or fifteen years of age (ARKive). It is also at the age of two to t...