The Amur leopard is the rarest wild cat on Earth, with intensive conservation measures in Russia and China supporting a gradual population recovery from a historic low of around 30 individuals.
Individual Amur leopards in the small wild population face high pressure from poaching snares, retaliatory killing, and road strikes on the Trans-Siberian highway. Prey availability for this large felid depends on stable deer and wild boar populations, which are also hunted. The welfare of each individual matters disproportionately in such a small population - the death of a reproductively active female significantly impacts recovery trajectory. Rehabilitation programs for injured leopards provide intensive care before release.