POPULATION DENSITY AND DISPERSION
The Amur leopard, the northernmost species of the leopards, once located throughout northeastern China, the southern part of Primorsky Krai in Russia and the Korean Peninsula(Amur Leopard: Ecology. (2008)), now occupy an area of 5,000 square kilomtres, and are estimated to have a population of 57 individuals remaining in small parts of southwest Primorskii Krai in Russia, and an estimated 7-12 wandering into China (Amur leopard. (n.d.)). In their area of occupation, Amur leopards have a population density of 1.0±0.5 per 100 square kilometre. In a report by Dale G. Miquelle, he stated that approximately only 30 Amur leopards can exist in Southwest Primorski Krai but if their habitatwere high quality, that number might increase up to 50 individuals, but dramatic conservation actions would be necessary to achieve this population density across all Southwest Primorye (Miquelle, D. G., & Murzin, A. (n.d.)). The Amur leopards prefer temperate forets of Far Eastern Russia, and during the winter trek along icy river, and steep slopes with southern exposure (Pikunov, D. G. et al.). On average female leopards occupy a home range of 40 to 100 square kilometres, while males can be more territorial and have territories as large as 400 square kilometres (Amur Leopard: Ecology. (2008)). They use a solitary system in which males will stay away from other leopards, except during mating season when they venture closer to the females. The female leopars may continue to interact with their offsprings, even after weaning. (Macdonald, D. (2001). This solidarity explains why their previous territory used to cover such a large amount of land; to avoid conflict, leopards try to avoid overlapping territories. |
A comparison between a leopardess and offspring in regards to a mutation of shorter tails |
GENETIC DIVERSITY
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