The largest-ever population of the North China leopard has been found in Ziwuling forest area in Yan'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, according to long-term monitoring and research jointly conducted by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and Beijing Normal University.
North China leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a subspecies of the Amur leopard peculiar to China.
Although leopards are the mostly widely distributed large felines in the world, the latest research indicates a sharp decline in its global population and distribution.
The finding can help gain a deep insight into the population and distribution of the wild leopard in China. Meanwhile, it will have an influence on the conservation of wild leopards in China and rest of the world.
"In the past year alone, we captured 28 North China leopards on camera in the 800-square-kilometer core survey area in Ziwuling forest area of Yan'an, Shaanxi. This is the area most heavily populated by leopards in Chinese territory. Meanwhile, a breeding population of North China leopards has also been found in Taihang forest area of Shanxi Province," Feng Limin, deputy director of Amur Tiger and Amur Leopard Monitoring and Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, told thepaper.cn.
According to Feng, North China leopard is currently the predator at the top of the food chain in forest ecosystems in the northern part of the country. Only if its living ecosystem and food chain return to good condition can its population effectively reproduce and develop. The new discovery of North China leopards shows the recovery of the fragile ecosystem in north China.
