This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
“The Amur or Far Eastern leopard, Panthera pardus orientalis, is the world’s most endangered big cat, and the only one known to be adapted to the cold, snowy environment in which it lives. There are only some thirty to fifty individuals left in the wild, and around 170 others in zoos worldwide. The wild population lives only on a tiny speck of land along the Russia-China border; deep snows prevent them from moving too far north while human activity keeps them from spreading south.
The video above is particularly exciting because it shows that, though small in size, the population of wild Amur leopards is breeding. The second individual to walk across the screen is a mature female, and she’s preceded and followed by two young cubs!”
-Jason Goldman
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Check out the original post by Jason Goldman on ‘The Thoughtful Animal’.