Tailor Made Holidays in Russia: In the News

Rare leopards spotted in Russia: 09-05-2008

A camera trap in south-east Russia has captured eight Amur leopards, the world's rarest big cat.

It is thought there are now just 40 Amurs - also known as Far Eastern leopards - living in Russia's eastern forests and in neighbouring parts of China.

However, Pavel Fomenko of WWF Russia believes the fact that eight have been photographed in the Primorskiy region of Russia is encouraging, although he goes on to point out that work still needs to be done in other areas.

"The confirmed stability of the leopard population… warm[s] our hearts and give[s] hope," he said, National Geographic reports.

"But this is only a small part of the leopard's habitat in the southwest Primorskiy. The remaining 70 percent of the leopard's habitat [is] in precarious condition," Mr Fomenko added.

The Primorskiy census was conducted by WWF and the Institute for Sustainable Use of Natural Resources.

Mr Fomenko has called for Russia to set up a unified federal protected area for the Far Eastern leopard.