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Zoos

The involvement of zoos in Amur leopard conservation is essential and their contributions can be broken down into four broad categories. The most important contributions of zoos are:
1) increasing public awareness
2) providing funding 
3) generating useful data and skills
4) maintaining a “genetic reservoir” for reintroduction or supplementation

Ad 1) Awareness

Zoos play a very valuable role in making the public aware of the existence of Amur leopard and the urgent need to improve its conservation. The Amur leopard is much less well known than its larger “cousin”, the Amur tiger. As a result, most attention and international conservation funds focus on Amur tigers. The habitat of the remaining population of Amur leopards is not connected with the area where the main population of Amur tigers can be found. As a result Amur leopards have gained little from conservation efforts for Amur tigers. Increasing popularity of the Amur leopard and awareness of its urgent conservation needs in both Russia and countries in the west is therefore essential. 

Ad 2) Financial support

Zoos have provided about 40% of the funds that have so far been made available to conservation NGOs for Amur leopard conservation. More than 40 zoos worldwide have contributed to Amur leopard in situ conservation (probably a world record for a single subspecies program). European zoos (EAZA) have provided approximately $600,000 in total and North American zoos (AZA) approximately $150,000 in total to ALTA partners since 1996. 

Ad 3) Generation of useful data and skills

This is a very diverse category which includes development of safe anesthesia techniques, pugmark measurements for calibration of field signs, blood samples for genetic studies, pelage photos for taxonomic research and much more. Husbandry and veterinary skills developed in zoos will be of great use in managing onsite breeding for reintroduction. 

Ad 4) Providing leopards for re-introduction

There are presently approximately 300 Amur leopards in the European and North-American zoo breeding programmes.

The Amur leopard is probably the only large cat for which a reintroduction programme using zoo stock is likely to take place in the near future. Concerns about levels of the rogue founder No 2 mean that good numbers of animals with low levels of this founder are needed and the European Zoo breeding programme (EEP) has in place a breeding management strategy with this goal.

At present a reintroduction plan is being prepared by local and international experts including WCS, ZSL, WWF Russia, Lazovsky Nature Reserve, the local NGO ISUNR, and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Pacific Institute of Geography and Institute of Biology and Soils. We expect that in 1-2 years from now preparations in the field (building of holding facilities and other infrastructure) will have begun. 

Visit the "Amur leopards in zoos" gallery.