From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The critically endangered Amur Leopard
(Panthera pardus orientalis or Panthera pardus amurensis) is possibly the
rarest subspecies of leopard in the world with estimates of between
25 to 34 known individuals remaining in the wild.
Its common name comes from the Amur River; other common
names for this subspecies are "Far East Leopard"
and the "Siberian Leopard".
While the Amur Leopard inhabits the same area as the Siberian Tiger,
it has received far less attention from the media and from charities.
The Amur leopard is the rarest of all the big cats, and is in immediate danger
of becoming extinct in the wild. It is suffering from habitat loss and
is especially vulnerable to natural disasters, such as fire, because of
extensive habitat fragmentation.
Amur Leopards prefer to live in forested territory, but most of its
remaining territory is surrounded by farms and villages,
making poaching easier.
Russian plans to build an oil pipeline through the last remaining habitat of
the Amur leopard were recently redirected to a safer route after
pressure from the WWF and other environmental organizations.
A Population Management Plan has been established for
this subspecies of leopard.
The PMP is a cooperative effort among zoos and
other captive-animal facilities to monitor the status and plan breeding
of the current captive population.
On April 16, 2007 a female was shot and killed by hunters, leaving
only six females left in the wild.
A 14 week old Amur leopard made her public debut
at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, England on 28 February 2008.
Physiology
The Amur Leopard is differentiated from the ten other living subspecies of leopard by
its longer fur, which is an adaptation for the cold, harsh conditions of the taiga.
The fur of the Amur Leopard is golden orange and about 2.5 cm long during the summer.
During the winter, the fur grows to around 7 cm, when it also lightens to
a pale cream colour. Its coat has larger and more widely spaced rosettes than
other leopards".
Info from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
To read the full Wiki article please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amur_leopard
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email: info@wildlife-sketches.com
This is really beautiful! Such wonderful detail. I wish I had talent like this.
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such details! would love to see more!
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Thanks for your comment. You will be able to see lots more very soon. I am updating my website and it should go live in the next two weeks.
Vince De Luca
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This is a wonderful picture, the detail is amazing. What a talent. I will enjoy looking through your other sketches.
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IT WAS SSSSOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ummm, that's a jaguar, not a leopard. Leopards, all varieties, have SOLID spots.
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Thank you for your interest but I can assure you it is a leopard in fact an Amur Leopard from Siberia. It looks nothing like a Jaguar apart from sharing the similarity of a spotted coat. Jaguars have a much wider head with an overall stocky muscular build. Jaguars also have shorter legs as they are a cat developed to wander through the undergrowth of the rainforest. Jaguars have large a short tight furred coat. they also have rosetted spots but so do Leopards. The Leopard in the picture is also with a heavy pelt of thick long fur designed for sub zero conditions of tunguska and other regions of Siberia where it originates from. Jaguars and leopards although sharing a similar coloured coat and spots have little else in common as far as appearance is concerned. The Jaguar in fact is more closely related to the Tiger than it is the Leopard.
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I can understand Hanks confusion over the differences between leopards and jaguars. Basically jaguars are much bigger, stockier and more muscular. Jaguars also have a larger jaw and a squarer head in appearance whilst the Amur leopard is a much more stream lined and graceful cat. The rosettes are difficult to determine and vary from individual to individual. Jaguars have larger rosette in smaller numbers, often with small dots or irregular shapes enclosed. The Amur leopard does have solid spots but it also has smaller rosettes in greater numbers but without the dots.
It is not surprising, that on an initial viewing, the cats can get confused. It might perhaps also be of interest to Hank that some scientists believe that back in the Pleistocene era jaguars evolved from a European leopard type ancestor.
I enclose a couple of shots taken at Marwell of the Amur Leopard which prove David to be totally accurate in his drawing. Hank might also like to read my review of the Amur Leopard which is currently on Wildlife Sketches.
Amur Leopard
Photo Copyright Jon Isaacs 2011
Amur Leopard
Photo Copyright Jon Isaacs 2011
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Beautiful photographs Jon ... You're one hell of a photographer...
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Beautiful photo's Jon. And very well explained. It seems to me that they are both beautiful animals though. David's recent drawing, of a young jaguar 'Mayan Monarch', is a great drawing too, and I think you can see the differences by comparing both drawings.
Mayan Monarch (Young Jaguar) By David Dancey-Wood
Copyright Hawkbill fine Art 2011
Amur Leopard By David Dancey-Wood
Copyright Hawsbill fine Art 2011
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