Amur Leopards, who live in the Amur River basin of eastern Russia, have a wild population of about 40 individuals. There are many causes for their low population. First, most of the leopard's habitat has been lost due to logging and farming. Also, the Amur leopard is poached for its fur and habitat loss has made it easier to locate and kill the leopards, which has lowered their population even more. Another reason is that there has been less wild prey for the leopards to hunt, so they have to go to deer farms for food and are usually killed by farmers. The leopard's low population cause problems. For example, since there are so few individuals left in the wild, interbreeding is occurring. Inbred offspring are prone to health issues, which reduces the population's chance of survival.
While this is a difficult topic, I was excited to hear that many conservation efforts have taken place to help these leopards. For example, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has established anti-placing teams and programs to help save the leopards. Even though there are positive measures taking place, I am starting to think that it may be too late. Do you think the leopards can be saved from extinction?
Reference:
Bove, Jennifer. "Amur Leopard: One of the World's Most Endangered Cats."ThoughtCo. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2017. <https://www.thoughtco.com/profile-of-the-endangered-amur-leopard-1182000>.
It is definitely great that people are trying to help the leopards, but I feel like their efforts may not be enough given how small the population already is. Hopefully they can be saved since they are important to the survival of other species. People should really try to reduce the amount of poaching, since that is a main cause of lowering the population.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren's statement that poaching needs to be reduced. Most of the problems linked to the decline of the leopard population is caused by the local farmers. Although the WWF has stepped in, they need a community effort to preserve the species.
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