04/24/2007
Amur Leopard One Paw Closer to Extinction
Sad news from the wild kingdom. One of the last seven known female Amur leopards has been killed. The Amur leopard, which lives in the far east of Russia, is the rarest cat on Earth:
"A hunter shot the leopard through the tail bone. It tumbled over and was then beaten over the head with a heavy object, Pavel Fomenko, WWF's regional biodiversity coordinator said. Amur leopards have not been known to attack humans. Last week environmentalists said there were only between 25 and 34 Amur leopards – still living in the wild. However, at least 100 are needed to guarantee the species' survival. There are more male leopards in the wild than female because cats tend to produce males when under stress, according to Fomenko."
Will it soon go the way of the Baiji dolphin?
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 7:00 PM EST by Andy in Nature, News | Permalink
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Thankfully, there are about 290 Amur leopards in zoos. The Baiji was found to be functionally extinct when researchers found no individuals in the wild to start a captive breeding program.
Posted by: Oregon Student | Apr 24, 2007 7:12:05 PM
This is truly sad and disturbing.
Posted by: Daniel | Apr 24, 2007 8:12:16 PM
Wow, what a beautiful animal, its just a shame that humans are destroying the habitat of these animals. Hopefully someone will figure out how to get them to reproduce in captivity, it would be yet another tragedy for the world to lose such a gorgeous creature. And, then there is the brutality that lout used to kill the animal just ticks me off royally.
Posted by: mark | Apr 24, 2007 8:18:50 PM
As seen in the From Pole to Pole (first) episode of BBC's Planet Earth...
Posted by: Scott | Apr 24, 2007 8:37:09 PM
our own extinction is reflected in the eyes of these endangered animals...
Posted by: amanda | Apr 24, 2007 10:07:52 PM
Did Larry Birkhead father this cat too?
They have the same eyes
Posted by: stephen | Apr 24, 2007 10:55:08 PM
so disgustin can we not be more compasionate??
Posted by: alan brickman | Apr 25, 2007 2:06:14 AM
One more example of why the "most intelligent species on the planet" probably isn't native to Earth. We are the only element in this terrestrial system that doesn't function in synchronicity with the environment. We are a cancer to this place we call home.
Posted by: Bill | Apr 25, 2007 8:38:55 AM
Sad, but it would make a lovely coat.
Posted by: gwyneth cornrow | Apr 25, 2007 11:55:37 AM
Bill,
True, we seem to have difficulty living in synchronicity with our system. But it's only a matter of time before the system compensates. Nature has a way of finding balance. And it will be at our expense.
As much as I love to think about the imagination of the human mind, our art, our culture, our ability to shape our surroundings, I also feel that the earth would be better off without us. It functioned for billions of years just fine before. And there were even species here that survived much longer and better than we have.
We shouldn't be worried about the earth and the species we're destroying. Life will make a comeback. We need to worry for ourselves.
Posted by: mark m | Apr 25, 2007 11:59:50 AM
To MARK M -
Your reply to Bill in your post has to be the most ignorant statement made here besides the previous comment by GWENETH CORNROW. Apparently "Gweneth" believes the fur from the brutatly killed leopard would "...make a lovely coat".
Truly sick! (even if Gweneth claims that it was just a joke)....just another example of how shallow, ignorant, and ugly so many people can be.
The earth is dangerously overpopulated. Here in the USA we are under threat from illegal immigration and wasteful lifestyle practices. With each person that becomes westernized the earth comes closer to environmental catastrophe.
All countries need to implament population control methods immediately. China has the right idea with One Chile per Family law - although it is sad that first-born females are often killed.
I'll never understand why anyone would advocate for an increase in population.
Posted by: Charles | Apr 25, 2007 6:09:57 PM