The Red Book Far Eastern leopard was filmed by a road in Primorsky Krai, eight kilometers from the Ussuri Nature Reserve, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources said on its website. Leopards disappeared from these places almost 50 years ago.
As noted in the department, with a high probability, eyewitnesses captured the pioneer Casanova.
For the first time, this leopard was captured by wildlife photographer Igor Metelsky and cameras of the World Wildlife Fund of Russia at the end of last year at the Severnaya hunting farm in the Nadezhdinsky district of Primorsky Krai. Then it was recorded after moving east through the Trans-Siberian Railway. The leopard was named Casanova - meaning "new home" when translated from Italian.
New valuable shots were received by a local resident near the village of Kondratenovka, Ussuriysk urban district.
“In the video, the leopard slowly crosses the paved road, looks back at the “witness” and calmly leaves the filming location, hiding in the night,” the ministry said.
A comparison of the available geolocation data shows that the male was noted at 11 kilometers from the place of initial fixation in the area of the Severnaya hunting farm and more than 50 km from the current core of the population - the National Park "Land of the Leopard".
“The uniqueness of the event is that the new location is the easternmost and farthest from the core of the population point of video recording of a leopard in the modern history of research. Thus, the pioneer again set a record,” the Ministry of Natural Resources reported.
The leopard ended up not far from the Ussuriysky Reserve, where the reintroduction of these animals is planned. These places are their historical habitat.
“Today, experts are observing a trend in the expansion of the range: an increase in the number of leopards in their main habitats allows them to settle, return to their original territories, where they were previously exterminated. The expansion of the habitats of the Far Eastern leopards gives hope that over time, individual individuals will be able to reach the territory of the Ussuriysky Reserve through the same route.
Over the 10 years of the existence of the National Park "Land of the Leopard", the population of the spotted cat has increased approximately three times - up to 121 adults. This is a rare example of conservation success, but numbers remain low. As explained in the Ministry of Natural Resources, the key to preserving the unique animal is the expansion of the range, which centuries ago occupied almost half of the territory of modern Primorye.
The Ussuri Nature Reserve is considered as a priority area for increasing the range of the rare cat.
Participants discussed the boundary between nature and ecotourism, whether mass visits to unique areas can remain safe, the responsibilities of investors, and how to prepare tourists for visiting specially protected natural areas.
The head of state expressed confidence that the Forum will be held at a high level, and that its results will contribute to the development of tourism in Russia and the expansion of humanitarian and business ties.
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