Rare Photos of Amur Leopard Captured
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There's only about 50 left in the world, but Chinese researchers have captured photos of the rare amur leopard. The shots were taken in northeast China, and offers some hope the species could yet live on.
Researchers say that they have recently captured two clear photos of the endangered amur leopard in a forest in northeast China's Jilin Province. It's the first time Chinese professional researchers have got photos of the rare animal since 1949.
The amur leopard, one of the world's most endangered large cats, has been spotted in a forest in the province's Yanbian prefecture, according to a doctoral candidate at Peking University named Sun Ge. Automatic infrared cameras were set up in the forest to capture images of the animal.
Sun and his assistant set up 40 cameras three months ago, returning to collect photos every twenty days. One of the cameras managed to capture the animal on September 19 in Wangqing County, which borders Russia and North Korea.
Sun's work is part of a field research project jointly sponsored by Jilin's provincial forest authorities and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The total number of amur leopards living in the wild is believed to be less than 50 worldwide, with about ten living in China.
The number was arrived at from interviewing researchers, as no systematic field research concerning the animals has ever been conducted in China.
The species used to be more widely distributed, but shrunk later due to a lack of prey, environmental damage and poaching.
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There's only about 50 left in the world, but Chinese researchers have captured photos of the rare amur leopard. The shots were taken in northeast China, and offers some hope the species could yet live on.
Researchers say that they have recently captured two clear photos of the endangered amur leopard in a forest in northeast China's Jilin Province. It's the first time Chinese professional researchers have got photos of the rare animal since 1949.
The amur leopard, one of the world's most endangered large cats, has been spotted in a forest in the province's Yanbian prefecture, according to a doctoral candidate at Peking University named Sun Ge. Automatic infrared cameras were set up in the forest to capture images of the animal.
Sun and his assistant set up 40 cameras three months ago, returning to collect photos every twenty days. One of the cameras managed to capture the animal on September 19 in Wangqing County, which borders Russia and North Korea.
Sun's work is part of a field research project jointly sponsored by Jilin's provincial forest authorities and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The total number of amur leopards living in the wild is believed to be less than 50 worldwide, with about ten living in China.
The number was arrived at from interviewing researchers, as no systematic field research concerning the animals has ever been conducted in China.
The species used to be more widely distributed, but shrunk later due to a lack of prey, environmental damage and poaching.