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The Amur leopard (''Panthera pardus orientalis'') is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and the Jilin Province of northeast China. It is classified as Critically Endangered since 1996 by IUCN. In 2007, only 19–26 wild Amur leopards were estimated to survive. Census data published in February 2015 indicate that the population has increased to at least 57 Amur leopards in Russia, and up to 12 Amur leopards in adjacent areas of China.〔Omer, A. (2015). (World’s Rarest Wild Cat Doubles in Number ). World Wide Fund for Nature.〕 The Amur leopard is also known as the Far Eastern leopard.〔 ==Characteristics== Amur leopards differ from other subspecies by a thick coat of spot-covered fur. They show the strongest and most consistent divergence in pattern. Leopards from the Amur River basin, the mountains of north-eastern China and the Korean Peninsula have pale, cream-colored coats, particularly in winter. Rosettes on the flanks are and widely spaced, up to , with thick, unbroken rings and darkened centers. Their coat is fairly soft with long and dense hair. The length of hair on the back is in summer and up to in winter. The winter coat varies from fairly light yellow to dense yellowish-red with a golden tinge or rusty-reddish-yellow. The summer pelage is brighter with more vivid coloration pattern. Compared with other leopard subspecies, they are rather small in size, with males larger than females. Males measure from with a long tail, a shoulder height of , and a weight of . Females weigh from .〔Geptner, V.G., Sludskii, A. A. (1972). ''Mlekopitaiuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza.'' Vysšaia Škola, Moskva. (In Russian; English translation: Heptner, V. G., Sludskii, A. A., Komarov, A., Komorov, N. (1992). (''Bars (Leopard)'' ). Pages 203–273 in: ''Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2: Carnivora (Hyenas and Cats)''. Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation, Washington DC).〕 Amur leopards have long limbs and are well adapted to walking through deep snow.〔http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/amur_leopard2/〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Amur leopard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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