In the wild

Eight subspecies 

Of all the cats in the world the leopard has the widest distribution. Leopards were originally found in almost the whole of Africa and in large parts of Asia, ranging from Turkey and the Middle East to Indonesia and Russia. At one time there were thought to be over thirty distinct subspecies of leopard, but most cat specialists now believe that the majority of these subspecies are not valid; eight have been proposed instead (Miththapala and Seidensticker 1995), and revision of the taxonomy is still under debate.

Of the eight subspecies the Amur, or Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) shows the strongest divergence in coat pattern. The coat is pale cream (especially in winter) and has widely spaced rosettes with thick, black rings and darkened centres. The length of the coat varies between 2.5cm in summer and 7.5cm in winter.

Ecology

Male Amur leopards weigh 32-48 kg, with exceptionally large males up to 60-75 kg. Females are smaller than the males at 25-43 kg.

The main prey species of the Amur leopard are roe and sika deer, along with hares and badgers.

Whilst it has been found in other regions that leopards do not do well in areas where they share territory with tigers, this has not proved to be the case in Russia. Studies have indicated that an increased tiger population in the Southwest Primorye area has not adversely affected the leopard population.

Amur leopards in zoos show some evidence of breeding seasonalilty with a peak in births in late spring/early summer. After a gestation period of around 12 weeks cubs are born in litters of 1-4 individuals, with an average litter size of just over 2. The cubs will stay with their mother for up to two years before becoming fully independent. Females first breed at an age of 3-4 years.

In the wild, leopards live for 10-15 years and they may reach 20 years in captivity.

The Amur leopard is listed as Endangered by the IUCN and is on CITES Appendix I for protection status.

Critically endangered 

Field survey data indicate that there are fewer than 45 leopards left in the wild, making the Amur leopard one of the world's most endangered cat taxa. There are approximately 300 Amur leopards in captivity, mostly in zoos in Europe, North America and countries of the former Soviet Union.  Most, but not all, of these leopards are in zoos participating in managed conservation breeding programmes.