According to recent photo monitoring data taken from trail cameras of the research department at Land of the Leopard National Park, the Far Eastern leopard Leo 12M Typhoon, who has left the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve where he lived for over seven years, has settled down near the Russia-China border.

The first information about the new master of Kedrovaya Pad, the oldest reserve in the Far East, was obtained in early 2021, when trail cameras recorded the appearance of a new male leopard Leo 225M there. Typhoon was soon sighted 12-15 kilometres from Kedrovaya Pad, at Land of the Leopard near the border with China.

The park’s researchers concluded that the leopard had left the area for natural reasons, moving away from people to a location where hunting was easier and there were no young rivals.

“The leopard Leo 12M now lives permanently at several sites near the border, beyond engineering facilities,” said Taisiya Marchenkova, an employee at the Land of the Leopard research department. “He regularly scent-marks the area to show that this is his territory now. He looks well-fed and healthy and from his behaviour, seems comfortable. We will continue to monitor his movements to see how his life in “retirement” is going.”  

The average life span of Far Eastern leopards in the wild is 11-12 years. Researchers believe that the favourable conditions created for animals at Land of the Leopard are a key factor in enabling rare cats to live to this age.