Of the Far Eastern Leopard

Among the more than 20 subspecies of le­opard Panthera pardus (L.) that have been stu­died, the Far Eastern subspecies P.p. orientalis Schlegel, 1857, belongs to those most clearly defined (Nowell and Jackson, 1996). It is char­acterized by long, thick fur, especially pro­nounced in the winter, with a general yellow­ish-reddish tone and a thick mat of contrasting spots; the circular black spots on the body -«rosettes» — are comparatively large. While the taxonomic and evolutionary link of this sub­species with the neighboring P.p. japonensis Gray, 1862, which lives in the area south of Beijing, needs additional study, there is no doubt that geographically and ecologically they are very sharply different. The Far Eastern sub­species was formed in an area of broad-leafed and coniferous forests in the moderate latitudes of Eastern Asia, with the cold and snowy winters characteristic of that region. Its natural habitat takes in the extreme southern portion of the Rus­sian Far East, the forest lands of the North-East­ern territory and the Korean Peninsula.

The leopard has now retreated from the seashores. But it is near the sea in Primorski Krai that the sika deer Cervus japonensis and goral Nemorhaedus goral, potential leopard prey, have their main habitats. Modern deer-farming enterprises have been organized in these areas.

At the present time the habitat has been ca-tastrophically reduced and now occupies only the extreme south-eastern part of Heilongjiang province and the eastern portion of the Jilin province in China; the extreme south-western portion of the Primorski Krai; and, possibly, the northern portion of the Korean People's Democratic Republic (North Korea).In the Republic of Korea (South Korea) the last time a leopard was seen was in 1969.

Стратегия сохранения дальневосточного леопарда

В Китае на протяжении последних 20 лет наблюдалось неуклонное сокращение числен­ности и площади обитания леопардов в про­винции Дзилинь (Янг, Джиянг, 1996). Некото­рое число леопардов еще живет на крайнем юге провинции Хейлунцзян. Общая числен­ность популяции в Китае сократилась по срав­нению с 1960—1970 гг. на 70% и в настоящее время составляет, по данным учета (Янг, Джи­янг, 1996), не более 15—20 особей, обитающих в труднодоступных горных районах на границе с Россией и КНДР. По последним данным международной группы специалистов в февра­ле-марте 1998 г. в Китае в провинции Дзилинь леопард отмечен только на сопредельных с Россией территориях. Какой-либо новой ин­формации о численности леопарда в провин­ции Хейлунцзян не имеется, возможно, здесь обитает не более 3—5 особей. Обследование трех северных провинций КНДР, непосредст­венно примыкающих к границе с РФ и КНР, достоверно не подтвердило присутствия лео­пардов.

Таким образом, современный ареал дальне­восточного леопарда охватывает только огра­ниченный горнолесной район площадью около 10—15 тыс. кв. км на стыке трех госу­дарств — КНР, КНДР и России. По самым оп­тимистическим оценкам, численность всей ми­ровой популяции дальневосточного леопарда со­ставляет 40—52 особей (Приморье — 30—40, Дзилинь — 4—7, Хейлунцзян — 3—5).

In China, over the past 20 years the num­ber of leopards and their area of habitation in the Jilin province has been steadily shrinking (Yang, Jiang, 1996). A number of leopards still lives in the extreme southern portion of the Heilongjiang province. The total leopard population in China has declined by 70 per­cent since 1960-70, and according to census data (Yang, Jiang, 1996) now comprises no more than 15-20 individuals, living in the iso­lated mountainous regions on the border with Russia and North Korea. According to the la­test data of an international group of special­ists in Feb.-March 1998, in the Jilin province of China the leopard has been seen only in territories bordering Russia. There is no new information on tire leopard population in Heilongjiang province, and there may be no more than 3-5 individuals there now. Accord­ing to a study of three northern provinces of the Korean People's Democratic Republic (North Korea) bordering on Russia and China, there were no leopards observed at all.

So it turns out that the modern habitat of the Far Eastern leopard comprises only a limited mountainous-forest region with an area of 10,000-15,000 square kilometers at the border of three states: China, Russia, and North Korea. The most optimistic estimates of the world population of the Far Eastern leopard are no more than 40-52 individuals (30-40 in the Primorski Krai,4-7 in Jilin,3-5 in Heilong­jiang).