A LEOPARD from Colchester Zoo has travelled to Devon in search of love and romance.

Article: https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2024/02/02/memphis-zoo-showcases-lesser-loved-species-like-amur-leopards-bear-cuscus/72441369007/

You can make the case that Amur leopards are the most beautiful big cats in the world.

They’re also the rarest.

For years, human activity has ravaged the population of Amur leopards, one of eight leopard subspecies. Roads have fragmented their habitat. Logging plantations have lowered the number of prey, leaving less for them to eat. And their beauty has come at a price, as Amur leopards have been hunted mercilessly for their coats.

In the late 1990s, the situation became so dire that the number of wild Amur leopards had dropped to around 30. Intense conservation efforts have since helped the population recover, but the animal is still critically endangered. Today, there are about 100 Amur leopards in the wild and another 200 in captivity.

“I feel like it’s an honor, just to be able to see one,” Chaney said.

At the Memphis Zoo, you can see two Amur leopards. There’s Sputnik, the playful and excited six-year-old male that Chaney compared to Tigger, the Winnie the Pooh character. And there’s Kira, the seven-year-old female who came to Memphis from a zoo in England a few years ago.

The hope is that the pair will produce cubs, providing the world with even more members of this remarkable species.

Their long, thick fur coats help them tolerate the subzero temperatures that come in their natural habitat. They’re smaller than many other big cats but remarkably athletic. They’re still powerful enough to take down large prey and they can jump nearly 10 feet vertically.

The effort to save the Amur leopard, so far, is also something for conservationists to be proud of, especially after their prospects once looked so bleak.

“The recovery efforts are showing promise,” Chaney said. “It’s a great success story.”

I was signing up for a £5 monthly adoption on WWF but I googled it and apparently it is better to support small charities as more money ends up going towards conservation of the animal, so which is the best charity to donate to for Amur Leopards?