Amur leopard
| Amur leopard | |
|---|---|
| A captive Amur leopard at the Colchester Zoo, England | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Family: | Felidae |
| Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
| Genus: | Panthera |
| Species: | P. pardus |
| Subspecies: | P. p. orientalis |
| Trinomial name | |
| Panthera pardus orientalis (Schlegel, 1857) | |
| Historic and present distribution of the subspecies (excluding northern China to the west of Manchuria) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as in 2007, only 19–26 wild leopards were estimated to survive in southeastern Russia and northeastern China.
As of 2015, fewer than 60 individuals were estimated to survive in Russia and China. Camera-trapping surveys conducted between 2014 and 2015 revealed 92 individuals in an 8,398 km2 (3,242 sq mi) large transboundary area along the Russian-Chinese border. In 2019, it was reported that the population was about 90 leopards. In 2021, it was reported the population was about 110 individuals.
Results of genetic research indicate that the Amur leopard is genetically close to leopards in northern China and Korea, suggesting that the leopard population in this region became fragmented in the early 20th century. The North Chinese leopard was formerly recognised as a distinct subspecies (P. p. japonensis), but was subsumed under the Amur leopard in 2017.