Amur Leopard: The rarest of wild cats

With only 30 - 40 remaining in the wild, the Amur leopards are listed in international, federal and regional levels as critically endangered and are in immediate danger of extinction.

Threats:

Poaching
There appears to be poaching of leopards as well as their prey species. Poachers include both poor local villagers and newly rich Russians, mainly from the city of Vladivostok, as well as Chinese nationals who illegally cross the border into Russia. Russian hunters kill many more deer than is officially allowed and Amur leopards are sometimes caught in snares as well. Since 2002, skins or corpses of nine Amur leopards killed by poachers have been found in Russia and at least two leopards have been killed in China.




Deforestation
The forests on which Amur leopards depend have slowly disappeared as a result of frequent fires. Local villagers start fires for various reasons, but mainly to stimulate the growth of ferns that are a very popular ingredient in Russian and Chinese dishes.




Inbreeding
Loss of genetic diversity in the small and isolated Amur leopard population may cause inbreeding depression (reduced numbers due to reduced reproduction, lifespan , and increased vulnerability to diseases). However, the results of research so far are inconclusive and additional information on the effects of inbreeding is needed before conclusions can be drawn.They have young every two years.




Development projects
Southwest Primary is located close to the Russian borders with China and North Korea, making it an attractive area for infrastructure projects such as new railways, gas and oil pipelines and ports. In 2005 and 2006 the Zoological Society of London and other ALTA partners led a successful international campaign against a plan to build an oil pipeline terminal on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the leopard’s range.

The Last of a Rabbit Breed

Bryn the pygmy rabbit died in 2008, marking the end of her genetic line. This subpopulation lost its sagebrush habitat as the land was developed for agriculture. Key features of Bryn’s genetic material survive in hybrid pygmy rabbits; a breeding and reintroduction program holds out hope for her kind.

In an off-exhibit room at the Oregon Zoo, the staff was quiet, even reverent, as they brought in Bryn. She was one of two Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits left, and since both were old females, this was a solemn occasion.

A keeper placed her gently on my black velvet background, and I began to take photos. I stopped to watch her from time to time, but she didn’t move much. She wasn’t even scared. Nearly blind, missing half an ear, and with fur falling out onto the cloth, she seemed to have already given up.

The whole experience left me morose and extremely disappointed. We’d done it again, this time by converting sage habitat to agriculture in western Washington. Our photo session was one of the last chances Bryn had to be noticed. She died a few months later, and then Raphaela, the last of the breed, died as well. The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is now extinct, a passenger pigeon for the 21st century.

-Joel Sartore

Whales can save us all

Large whales such as blue whales and sperms whales excrete large amount of iron in their feces. These iron-rich feces in turn encourage growth of phytoplankton (microscopic plants) which actively photosynthesize.

Given the population of large whales way before people starting whaling, there could've been just enough phytoplankton to convert the entire China's industrial CO2 pollution to oxygen.