With only about 100 wild individuals, Amur leopards face severe inbreeding depression affecting health and welfare both in the wild and in captivity.
Inbreeding depression manifests as increased disease susceptibility, developmental abnormalities and reproductive failure — all welfare concerns at individual and population levels. Captive Amur leopards can live 20+ years but require large enclosures with complex environments. Stereotypic pacing and stress behaviours in under-enriched facilities are documented, and welfare monitoring is uneven across the global captive population.