Leopard is the symbol of grace and force.
Unfortunately, these magnificent beasts have been intensively persecuted and poached since ancient times, and have disappeared from many areas, like North Africa, Middle East or Eastern China, while only in South Saharan Africa some populations maintain healthy.
A recent census has discovered that just 25 to 34 wild Amur leopards or Far Eastern Leopard are left, 66 less than necessary to save this subspecies.
The Amur leopard reached this situation due to habitat and prey loss, as well as poaching.
It is the rarest cat in the world today and one of the most mysterious.
This leopard is one of the largest subspecies, weighing 65 to 155 pounds (30-70 kg) and stands out from other leopards through its longer fur and legs, adaptations to the Siberian winter cold and snow conditions.
Once, this big cat roamed through all the deciduous forests of the Korean Peninsula, Russian Far East, and northeastern China.
The census monitored a 1,930 square miles (5,000 square kilometers) area near Vladivostok.
"We've known for some time that Amur leopard numbers were low," said Darron Collins, Managing Director of WWF's program for the Amur-Heilong region.
"But this collaborative census demonstrates precisely how dangerously low the numbers are and how dire the overall situation is," said Collins, speaking from Washington, D.C.
Four leopard litters were detected, "a sign the population has some hope for regeneration."
But a number of at least a hundred leopards are necessary to ensure the survival of the Amur leopard, and experts are calling on China, Russia, and North Korea to cooperate for saving this magnificent beast.
"Each government has played a role in helping conserve the leopard, with Russia taking the lead. But more certainly needs to be done, and what we need now is an increase in commitment to a transboundary protected area," said Collins.
Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, wishes to unify three protected zones where the leopard still exists.
WWF convinced the Russian government to change a planned oil pipeline route to eschew leopard's habitat.
"Russia is also taking some wrong steps", said Michiel Hötte, an Amur expert with the Zoological Society of London.
"The Russian Ministry of Justice wants to remove the right of [officials in nature reserves] to fine or arrest poachers," Hötte said.
"This will seriously weaken reserves on which the Amur leopard depends."
"China is considering lifting the ban on the domestic trade in tiger parts used in traditional medicine. Lifting the ban would be disastrous not only for tigers but also for leopards, which are often used as substitutes for tigers in Chinese remedies," he said.
"Conservationists have had very little contact with the secretive government of North Korea. But as far as we know, the regime does little to protect tigers and other wildlife." he added.
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