The Far Eastern leopard is one of the rarest members of the cat family. It used to be that he attacks livestock. Leopards were exterminated until in the 50s they realized that there were less than 40 of them left. That is, the species was brought to the brink of extinction.

The fact is that in felines, close-knit bonds threaten with inevitable degeneration. And with a population of 35 heads, almost everyone will be relatives. There were almost no hopes for the restoration of the leopard population. Almost all representatives of this species living in zoos are relatives. The hunt for a leopard was banned, and the beast itself was listed in the Red Book. Measures to preserve these cats are conducted in China and the Korean Peninsula.

Contrary to all expectations, the number of leopards in the wild began to increase. In the national park "Land of the Leopard", founded six years ago, in 2015 there were already about 70 animals. And here is the latest news - in the national park there are already 84 adult leopards and 19 kittens, of which seven are teenagers and 12 are babies. In China, constantly inhabited about 10 individuals.

The state of affairs is monitored with 400 automatic photo traps. This is the largest similar network in Russia. And each leopard has its own, individual coloring. The increase in the number of beautiful cats is explained not only by the ban on shooting, but also by the creation of a national park, where in sufficient for them and other protected inhabitants - Amur tigers,.

The Far Eastern leopard has a weight of 30 to 50 kg, a body length of 100 - 136 cm, even up to 80 cm falls on the tail. Life expectancy 10-15 years. The hunting grounds of the male are 250-500 square kilometers, in females the territory is 4-6 times smaller. They feed on ungulates, pigs of wild boars, calves of wapiti, badgers and raccoon dogs. After killing the victim, the leopard tries to drag her higher on the tree and a few days he lives next to the prey, eating it. In the absence of another food, the leopard can catch mice or attack the Himalayan bear. In the summer, the proportion of insects and worms increases in their diet. About 7% of the ration is cereal, which is eaten for cleaning the digestive tract from the hair that got there when cleaning the fur.

Cases of attacks of these cats on people is unknown.

Once every three years, the female produces 1-2 kittens, less often up to 4.

Mortality of kittens is very high. With 2-3 months of kittens begin to eat meat. Up to 14 months old kittens live with their mother. Sexual maturity comes in 2-3 years. From enemies, the leopard is saved in the trees. And only in places where there are few trees, a flock of wolves can represent a danger to a cat. Also dangerous for leopards are rural dogs, who are hunted in packs for hunting wild animals and control the territory at a distance up to 35 kilometers from villages.