The Amur leopard is native to the Primorye region, in the south-east of Russia and the Jilin province, in the north-east of China, and it has been classified as critically endangered since 1996. Only 14-20 adults and 5- In a 2007 census, 6 cubs were counted, for a total of 19-26 Amur leopards in the wild. The Amur leopard is also known as the Far Eastern leopard. CharacteristicsAmur leopards have a thick coat of fur covered with spots. Leopards from the Amur River Basin, the mountains of northeastern China, and the Korean Peninsula have a light cream-colored coat, especially in winter. Their coat is quite soft with long, thick fur. The winter coat varies from light yellow to dense yellowish-red with a golden tinge. In summer it is brighter and has more vivid patterns.HabitatHermann Schlegel first described an Amur leopard in 1857 based on a skin from Korea. The Amur leopard is the only subspecies of leopard adapted to the cold and snowy climate. Amur leopards were found in northeast Asia, probably south of Beijing, and on the Korean Peninsula. In the middle of the 20th century their distribution in Russia was limited to the far south of the Ussuri region. In the 1950s, leopards were observed 50 km north of Vladivostok and in the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve. The association of Amur leopards with the mountains is quite definite. They are mostly confined to places where wild sika deer live. In winter they remain on the rocky slopes facing south, without snow. Leopards cross Russia, China and North Korea across the Tumen River despite a long, high metal fence marking the border. In China, Amur leopards have been photographed by camera traps in Wangqing and Hunchun, in eastern China's Jilin province. BehaviorAmur leopards are extremely conservative in their choice of territory...... middle of paper...... American and European regions include a considerable contribution of genes from Founder 2, which was not an Amur leopard . The strategy of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) has been to manage reproduction so as to minimize its contribution. All leopards with more than 41% Founder 2 genes have been excluded from breeding since 1999. This policy has resulted in an overall decrease in the prevalence of Founder 2 genes and an increase in the number of leopards with a low percentage of them. As of December 2011, there are 176 Amur leopards in captivity in zoos worldwide. Inside the EEP, 54 male, 40 female and 7 asexual individuals are kept. In the American and Canadian zoos, another 31 males and 41 females are kept within the Population Management Program. In China, there is another population of Amur leopards in captivity in the Beijing Zoo, the founders of which came from North Korea.