Far Eastern leopards have settled in nearly all suitable areas in the southwest of the Primorye Territory, according to experts from Land of the Leopard National Park. The studies they conducted during the past years show that the leopards’ home range has increased threefold compared to the early 2000s.

“During these studies, we have collected a large amount of scientific data about the Far Eastern leopard, including thanks to Russia’s largest photo monitoring system comprising 400 trail cameras,” said Viktor Bardyuk, director of Land of the Leopard National Park. “We have taken note of the natural balance and harmony in the area we studied. In addition to about a hundred leopards and 30 tigers, there are 22,000 sika deer, roe deer and wild boar living there. Large predators are an indicator of the ecosystem’s health: the ecosystem is healthy if the number of big cats is stable and they feel comfortable.”

Leopards are protected from poachers, forest fires and tree felling in the territory of Land of the Leopard National Park and its protected area, as well as in the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve. Overall, leopards live on an area of some 460,000 hectares in the forested part of Russia’s Primorye Territory. They are also spreading out into an area of 150,000 hectares in neighbouring China, where they live mostly near the border, according to the trail camera photos the Russian and Chinese experts exchange.