«Expert Online»Saving the Big Cat
Photo: SXC
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed a decree founding a new natural reserve in the Far-Eastern Primorye region. The reserve’s mission is to preserve endangered animal species such as the Ussuri tiger and Far-Eastern leopard. The Ministry of Natural Resources will be the sole authority taking care of the leopard, governing both the newly founded Leopardoviy and the previously existing Kedrovaya Pad reserves.
Leopardoviy will cover a territory of almost 170,000 hectares close to the borders of China and North Korea. It is the only area inhabited by the world’s most endangered big cat. Experts estimate there are currently only 30 leopards surviving.
Representatives of WWF, who had long called for unification of various natural reserves preserving the leopard, welcomed the decision.
