“Once nearly extinct, Amur leopards are making a comeback in East Asia. Their numbers have risen from a low of 25 to around 130 today, raising hopes for a long-term recovery,” reports The Doomslayer.
Mongabay adds:
The Amur leopard lives in isolation in the freezing forests of southeast Russia and northeast China. It’s one of the most endangered of eight leopard subspecies in the world. Today, its population is on the upswing.
In the 20th century, poaching for its spotted fur, forest fires and conversion of land for farming caused the wildcat’s population to plummet to roughly 25 individuals in the wild. Today, there are approximately 130 in Russia alone, according to a recent Wildlife Conservation Society report….In 2014-15, researchers estimated a global population of 84 Amur leopards…
In 2012, the Russian government created Land of the Leopard National Park, which included all of the leopard’s breeding areas and about 72% of suitable habitat in Russian territory. “It was only the creation of the national park that set the conditions for these cats to recover”…Simultaneous recovery of prey, the Sika deer, fire management, strong law enforcement and population monitoring gradually helped the population bounce back….
With more than 200 camera trap stations, researchers have documented the population starting to recover since 2014. A 2018 Conservation Letters paper showed Amur leopards move extensively between Chinese and Russian borders.
Bobcats recently returned to New Jersey after being absent from the state for 50 years.
Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs have come back from near extinction
The snow leopard population has doubled in Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth largest country.
A giant fish believed to be extinct was found in the Mekong River.
Fish species are rebounding off the coast of California due to their young finding a sanctuary in abandoned oil rigs.
Last year, scientists discovered that the world’s coral reefs are more plentiful than previously thought.
In 2023, a baby beaver was born in London, the first beaver birth there in 400 years, and carnivorous plants were reintroduced to English wetlands. And a dog discovered a species of mole long thought to be extinct, De Winton’s golden mole.
