The Far Eastern leopard is not a territorial animal. Although each animal has its own home range, it can overlap with the territories of other leopards of the same gender. Therefore, several same-sex leopards may inhabit the same territory.
Leopard cubs start walking at the age of 13 days. When they are 2-3 months old, they are capable of covering short distances of up to 4 km under their mum’s supervision, and at the age of 4-5 months, a leopard cub can run 8 km with his mum. When they turn 9-10 months, leopard cubs start moving around independently.
Female leopards have their first litter at the age of 2.5 years.
Leopard cubs start to eat meat at the age of 6-8 weeks.
Regardless of the season, hoofed mammals like the sika deer and Siberian roe deer remain the Far Eastern leopard’s main food source.
A leopard’s paw prints have the same shape as a tiger’s but are far smaller in size, about 12 by 12cm.
Leopard’s claws can be up to 4.5 cm long. They normally leave no imprints on the ground, a feature shared by all felines, except when a leopard gets its claws out to attack its prey.
Leopards usually pace on the edge of high cliffs, which gives them a good view of the potential prey down below.
A leopard can spot a person from a distance of 1.5 km but would secretively keep away, hiding and watching from afar.
Unlike Amur tigers, Far Eastern leopards are not so well equipped for walking in deep snow – the spotted predators prefer to make their way along the southern slopes where the snow is less deep.
The latest data suggests there are about 80 Far Eastern leopards in the world, inhabiting areas of southwest Primorye and the Russian regions bordering on China’s northeastern provinces. However, only 100 years ago these spotted predators inhabited most of Primorye, the entire Korean Peninsula and two Chinese provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang.
The Far Eastern leopard’s life expectancy is 20 years in captivity and 12-15 years in the wild, according to previous estimates. However, the latest research based on modern technologies indicates that some live longer: national park researchers have identified leopards older than 16.
A male Far Eastern leopard courts several females at a time as he seeks to father as many cubs as possible.
A Far Eastern leopard eats one roe deer or sika deer every 7-10 days, then rests before spending another few days hunting for new prey. In between, the spotted predator feeds on small animals.
A pregnant leopardess will carefully prepare a place for her offspring in a cave or under an overhanging rock. Female leopards prefer small, safe shelters to spacious accommodations. The entrance to a dwelling is generally very narrow and inconspicuous in the surrounding landscape. It can only be found by the owner. Other forest dwellers are not allowed to disturb the spotted cubs.
Illustrations — Anna Biyatova
for Far Eastern Leopards autonomous non-profit organization (https://en.save-leopard.ru/)
© Rossiya Segodnya, 2017
