Endangered: The Beautiful Amur Leopard Quiz

Answer: Southeastern Russia

Located in the extreme southeastern corner of Russia, the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis), can only be found in an area known as Primorye. This sparsely populated area of Russia is home to many amazing animals about which very little is known.

Answer: They have a much thicker coat

Amur leopards have fur which is much thicker and in the winter it is much longer. They have fewer rosettes and are generally lighter in color to blend in with the snowy regions that they inhabit. Their beautiful coat changes color with the seasons, becoming lighter in the winter and darker in the summer.

As for the tail, while it is not quite as long as the tail of an African leopard, it is usually about 35 in. (90 cm) long and the abundant fur makes it look much thicker around.

Answer: Cold, mountainous forests

The Amur leopard loves the mountains and the forests and very rarely leaves the higher elevations. Each individual leopard maintains its own forest territory usually located near a mountain river basin. These territories may overlap, but only by a little bit.

They are adept climbers and able to scale the rocky slopes in the area with ease. They are also able to maneuver in the snow with grace.

Answer: Deer

The main prey species for this leopard are sika deer and roe deer. A hungry Amur leopard will hunt almost any animal when hungry and have been known to kill young adult bears. They will take rabbits, raccoons and wolverines when available, but obtain the vast majority of their nutrition form the small deer species that are endemic to the area.

The Amur leopard is usually a nocturnal and solitary hunter that is known to hide its unfinished kills so that they will not be taken by scavengers.

Answer: Habitat loss

This beautiful leopard has been hunted for its beautiful fur for centuries but the greatest threat is from habitat loss and fragmentation. The deliberate logging of the area's forests have cause many of the prey animals to disappear or move. The loss of cover makes it difficult to hunt, and population fragmentation leads to inbreeding.

Answer: Bones

Traditional Chinese medicine used the ground bones of the Amur leopard for centuries. It was believed they helped cure arthritis, baldness, lung disorders, and of course impotence. At one time, the Amur leopard was found in many parts of China, but sadly, that has become a thing of the past.

It is now up to Russia to provide the protection needed before this beautiful animal becomes extinct.

Answer: Tiger

Of these choices only the tiger shares the same territory. The tigers in the area are also in danger of going extinct for the same reasons as the leopard. The tiger also has the advantage of strength and size and will fight a leopard for prey. Both animals attempt to avoid each other, but in an area of dwindling prey and deforestation, meetings between the two are becoming more frequent.

Answer: Wild fires

Wildfires set by humans pose a major problem for the Amur leopard. Fires have been started in the region for years in attempts to fertilize the ground and to kill insects such as ticks. Satellite images have shown that almost 1/4 of this area burns every year.

Besides the threat from being burnt, these fires chase away the ungulates that make up a large portion of the Amur leopard's diet. It has also caused many forested areas to turn into grasslands which are an unsuitable habitat for the secretive Amur leopard.

Answer: False

The Amur leopard is a large cat that is usually about 25-30 in. (64-78 cm) at the shoulders and usually weighs between 60-100 lbs (27-48 kg), but it is nowhere near as large as the Amur tigers who inhabit the same region and can attain weight up to 400 lbs (177kg), nor the Siberian tigers who can easily reach 500 lbs (222 kg).

When kept in a zoo, some of these cats can double these weights. While the Amur leopard may not be the largest, it is the most endangered, with the risk of extinction knocking at its door.

Answer: True

The Amur leopard is an extremely athletic animal, superbly designed for its surroundings. It can leap almost 20 ft. (6m) horizontally, 10 feet (3m)vertically and run at speeds of 37 mph.(59 km). It has broad paws which help it walk on the snow and is so elusive that many of the locals in the area will refer to it as the ghost leopard.