Saturday 19 March 2011

Re-introduction into the wild

In March 2009 the Minister of Natural Resources of Russia during his meeting with Vladimir Putin reassured the Prime Minister that the ministry is planning to restore Amur Leopard population by introducing new "imported" Amur Leopards into the area and creating suitable and safe habitat for them. Mr. Trutnev did not explain where the ministry is planning to get additional leopards and how. (It is assumed that Ministry is planning to re-introduce captive animals (cubs) into the wild). He has also said that the job is going according to the plan, and that specialists are already working on the project and that the government already allocated all required funds for the project.[7]

There is the possibility that leopards from zoo stocks will be used for reintroduction into the wild within the foreseeable future. The reintroduction plan is completed and will hopefully be approved at a meeting in Vladivostok in March 2010. This would create a second population as a backup, probably in the Lazovsky Nature Reserve where Amur leopards have historically been found.

Further information on the reintroduction of Amur leopards from zoos can be found in Chapter 18 of 'Reintroduction of Top-Order Predators', published in 2009.

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