For the first time in the history of Far Eastern leopard research, experts received photos of cubs from the same litter that have grown up and entered adulthood. The leopardess Leo 37F, or Umka, has managed to bring up three cubs at a time. It is the first time that all members of such a large family survived at Land of the Leopard.

Umka and her three six-month-old cubs were captured by trail cameras several years ago for the first time. The young leopards are now about two years old and have been photographed again. Each of them received a number and a passport: a male, Leo 106M, and two females, Leo 107F and Leo 113F.

Not all cubs survive in the wild, including leopard cubs. The life of young leopards carries huge risks, and even their mother’s care does not guarantee that the entire litter will survive. But all three cubs are now leading an independent life.

Experts were especially interested in how the siblings would share the territory. One of the females continues to live with her mother, while the male went to the central part of the park in search of a new home. The female Leo 107F has covered 30 kilometres, almost leaving the park.

“The information about how young leopards search for a new area to live is very important because it allow us to better understand the population processes, which is especially relevant given the growing number of animals. The distance that young predators have to cover depends on the population density. Males strive to go as far as possible in order to avoid inbreeding and competition with other males, while females often settle not far from their mother. In this case, one of the females went really far and left her home for an unknown reason. It is fascinating to observe so we will proceed with this,” said Dina Matyukhina, senior research associate at Land of the Leopard.

Land of the Leopard conducts photo monitoring with the support of the Far Eastern Leopards autonomous non-profit organisation. The park has some 400 camera traps in use.