VLADIVOSTOK, January 10. /TASS/. Two leopard cubs, who lost their mother and risked dying from cold and hunger, were rescued in the Primorsky Region in Russia’s Far East, a local national park reported on Tuesday.
"Two Far Eastern leopard cubs, without their mother anywhere nearby, were found on a highway near the Land of the Leopard national park in the Primorsky Region and rescued. This endangered species of cubs who learned how to walk quite recently were caught to be saved from dying amid the frost or under car wheels," the national park said in a statement, adding that this was the first time these rare leopards were rescued that young.
Experts say the cubs might have lost their mother because of the deep snow coverage in the area following a heavy mid-December blizzard. Round-the-clock monitoring was organized soon after the leopard cubs were found in the hope that their mother might find them, but this never happened, and a survey of the area showed no traces of any adult leopards.
"During an examination by veterinarians, the cubs demonstrated natural behavior of wild animals, and they had no external injuries. They have so far been quarantined, while being monitored round the clock," according to the statement. The female leopard might have tried to lead its offspring to where it had left some meat for them, but the family was separated by the Razdolnoye-Khasan highway, the statement reads.
The Far Eastern leopard is the world’s largest feline and one of the rarest animals on the planet. According to the latest research, just over 120 such leopards inhabit Russia, namely the southwest of its Primorsky Region, and a small Chinese area sharing its border with Russia. The core of this feline’s population is under the protection of the Land of Leopard national park which was established outside Vladivostok in 2012.