Estonian leopard cub to arrive at Marwell Wildlife Park
17.11.2009
Amur leopard cub born in Estonia arrived at the Marwell Wildlife Park near Winchester on 17 November 2009. Kaia, one of three extremely rare Amur leopard cubs born in Tallinn Zoo on 15 May last year, was sent to Marwell Park as part of an international conservation breeding programme.
Photo: Kaia still at Tallinn Zoo
The Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a wild feline predator native to the Russian Far East, and also the mountainous areas of the taiga as well as other temperate forests. It is one of the rarest felids in the world with an estimated 30 to 45 individuals remaining in the wild. Major causes of the Amur leopards decline have been due to habitat destruction caused by wildfires, intensive logging and clear cutting, elimination of its prey and by illegal hunting.
Tallinn Zoo has installed web cameras in the leopard enclosure for people to observe online one of the rarest cats in the world, see: https://www.digisilm.ee/
