Amur leopards are probably the rarest big cat in the world.
Today, the only remaining population of Amur leopards are confined to forests of a temperate region crossed by the Amur River, a natural boundary between China and Russia.
They are the only leopard subspecies adapted to survive in both extreme snowy winter and hot summer climates.
The fur of an Amur leopard’s summer coat grow to approximately 2.5cm long. In winter they are replaced by coats up to 7cm long. Sometimes they wrap their long bushy tail around themselves for extra warmth.
Amur leopards are speedy cats able to run up to 35 miles per hour…that’s faster than Usain Bolt (he runs at up to 28 miles per hour)!
Their long legs are adapted for walking in the snow. This incredible animal has also been reported to leap more than 19 feet horizontally and up to 10 feet vertically.
Amur Leopards are currently endangered in the wild due to habitat loss and poaching.
We work closely with The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Ex Situ Programme (EEP) to ensure a genetically and demographically healthy population.
The Amur leopard is the only big cat with a reintroduction programme approved by the IUCN. The reintroduced Amur leopards would come from the managed breeding programmes.
- Amur leopards have unique spot patterns which makes them individually identifiable.
- The tongue of an Amur leopard has sharp-pointed rasps, called papillae, which are used to scrape the meat off the bones of its prey.
- Amur Leopards are currently endangered in the wild due to habitat loss and poaching.
