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Amur leopard density nearly tripled in a decade

Wild Amur leopard in Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve, Russian Far East
Conservation · Population & status

A decade of camera-trap monitoring in Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park shows that Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) density increased from about 0.89 to 2.64 animals per 100 km² between 2014 and 2023 — close to a threefold increase.

The study did more than count leopards. By following individually recognisable animals through time, the researchers estimated survival, recruitment and reproduction. Annual apparent survival among adult leopards was estimated at about 79–91% and was the strongest demographic factor behind the population growth, while reproduction made a much smaller contribution. Apparent survival describes the proportion of known animals that survived and remained in the monitored population from one year to the next; permanent emigration can therefore be indistinguishable from death. The authors link the high adult survival to strengthened protection in the landscape.

The average annual population growth rate within the study area was about 12%. At the same time, the researchers found signs that the recovering population may be approaching the carrying capacity of the protected area: estimated home ranges became smaller as density increased, and the mean observed litter size of about 1.5 cubs declined over the study period.

The figures refer to density and demography inside Land of the Leopard National Park and should not be read as a new estimate of the entire global Amur leopard population.

Sources and image credit

  1. Marchenkova, T. V., Matiukhina, D. S., Reebin, A. N., Gogoi, K., Bisht, S., Kumar, U., & Miquelle, D. G. (2026). Demographic drivers of the far eastern leopard population recovery. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-64589-3Primary peer-reviewed study, published 2 August 2026.

Image: tcager (iNaturalist) — wild Amur leopard in Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve, Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Representative image for this story; not presented as an animal or scene from the reported study or event. · CC0 1.0 · Source

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