Another nearly extinct wildlife

The Amur Leopard

• Scientific name: Panthera pardus orientalis
• Location: Eastern Russia
• Population: Less than 40

Once ranging from all over Eastern Asia, the Amur leopard, or Far East Leopard, is now extinct in China and the Korean Peninsula.Poaching and human encroachment into the habitat of the Amur leopard have led to their drastic reduction in numbers. With such a small population, genetic anomalies due to inbreeding pose a further threat to the population.The leopard is rarely found in cold or high-elevation environments and is best known in its more familiar home in the savannas of Africa, where populations are relatively stable.

However, in the northernmost part of its range, a rare subspecies of this cat lives in the temperate forests and harsh winters of the Russian Far East. This is the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). It is also known as the Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard or the Korean leopard. 

The Giant Panda

• Scientific name: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
• Location: South-central China
• Population: 1,600 as of 2004

One of the most familiar endangered species in the world, the Giant Panda spends half its day eating, and bamboo makes up 99% of their diet. While poaching is no longer considered a threat, the main threat to the Giant Panda is loss of habitat and fragmentation of their habitat due to agriculture.