One of the most endangered species in the world is the Amur Leopards. One of these big cats can leap 20 feet, run up to 37 miles per hour, and are strong climbers and swimmers. The leopards live best in cold and snowy environments, which is why they are indigenous to eastern Russia, northern China, and Korea. Erin Blakemore, an author from Smithsonian.com, writes about how this species has begun slowly inch back from the edge of extinction. Amur Leopards are dangerously close to extinction. In 2007, a meer 37 of these animals were living in northeast Asia. In a preservation effort, a national park for the leopards was opened in 2012. Since then, the leopards numbers have nearly doubled; a census taken in 2015 reports 57 leopards in the national …show more content…
Humans have surpassed their carrying capacity and have overpopulated earth, while other species, like the Amur Leopards, are trying their best not to die out. It is because of this that this subject made its way to the media. This impressive rebound is further proof that with protected habitats, extinction can be avoided. It is crucial to try to maintain the ecosystem as is because the organisms in the ecosystem rely on one another for survival. If the Amur Leopards died out, there would be an overpopulation of their prey, and its food source would underopulate. This is avoided, however, if conservation efforts are made to protect the Amur leopard …show more content…
Camera traps use infrared sensors to capture photos of organisms, and n the case of Amur Leopards, allow scientists to identify individuals organisms in the population. A camera trap is effective for this purpose because it is “non-invasive, incurs minimal environmental disturbance, is robust to variation in ground conditions and climate and, most importantly, can be used to gain information on highly cryptic species and in difficult terrain where other field methods are likely to fail.” These camera traps and their technology allow scientists to monitor the progress of the Amur Leopard population, a feat that would have been impossible without this scientific improvement. Had it not been for the combined efforts of conservation groups and camera traps, then the Amur Leopards may be