A previously unknown female Far Eastern leopard has been captured on video in Land of the Leopard National Park in the Primorye Territory. A motion-sensor camera installed by wildlife photographer Sergei Gorshkov helped identify the new animal. National park workers will study the footage to make a “passport” for the new leopardess, who has been assigned an ID number, Leo 207F.

In the video, the female walks onto a spacious overlook, explores the area and sniffs the air. According to experts, this may indicate that Leo 207F is open to new contacts and is ready to bear cubs.

“According to our studies of leopard reproductive biology, females first mate at an average age of two years and three months. The estimation relies on photographs of females with offspring taken by camera traps. We determine the cubs’ age visually by comparing them with the existing photo bank of leopards from zoos. We track the history of each litter, record all camera trap sightings, estimate the cubs’ age, and calculate the possible date of conception,” said Anna Vitkalova, an employee of Land of the Leopard’s research department.

The footage of Leo 207F was filmed in the northern region of the national park, which, geographically, is part of the Ussuriysk urban district. The more frequent sightings of leopards in the area suggest the animals are expanding their range. The rare predators are dispersing and gradually occupying lands outside protected areas.