Chicago Zoological Society

Brookfield Zoo’s Fragile Kingdom has a new resident, and he’s helping to spread the word on the fate of his species. Tosya (pronounced TOE-sha) is a four-year-old Amur leopard who arrived here recently from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.

Amur leopards are arguably the most critically endangered big cat on the planet. Conservationists theorize there might be as few as 30 individuals left in the wild. Causes of their population decline include the loss of prey species and the fact that Amur leopards are hunted for their coats and bones. Deforestation, however, is perhaps the greatest threat to these cats. Logging and clear-cutting have crippled their native habitat, the forests of eastern Russia and northern China, with a lot of the destruction occurring over the last 20 years.

“When the Soviet Union broke up, the best way for the smaller republics to get cash was to tap into natural resources,” explained Mike Brown, lead keeper in the mammal department. The Taiga area, a large forested area and the largest terrestrial biome in the world, is especially vulnerable to these market demands, as the forest is being cleared for lumber export to Asia and other parts of the world. Of course, with the destruction of the forests, native animal species populations have plummeted as well.

It’s hard for conservationists to know just how hard the Amur leopard population has been hit, as they are possibly the most elusive cats on the planet. But based on the number of markings, pug marks and automatic-triggered photographs, researchers estimate that only a handful of these big cats remain. This has major repercussions for the cats’ ability to breed successfully; studies show that Amur leopard reproduction is at a very low level, and the small population count means that there might not be enough genetic diversity to ensure healthy offspring.

But what frustrates researchers, in addition to these sobering statistics, is the fact that the Aumr tiger, which inhabits the same area and is much larger than the leopard, has more stable numbers than its spotted cousin. “It’s kind of weird that the Amur tiger is doing better than Amur leopards,” Brown says. “Usually the bigger cats don’t do as well as the smaller ones; smaller leopards don’t require the big prey items that the big tiger does.”

Unfortunately, the leopard is also at a disadvantage in terms of conservation popularity. While Amur tigers have been the focus of preservation, protection and management efforts for some time, Amur leopards have been largely overlooked and now have to play conservation catch-up.

Brookfield Zoo already has one resident Amur leopard, an eighteen-year-old named Anya. Tosya and Anya will not breed, as Anya is too advanced in age.

Keepers are making sure that Tosya is calm and comfortable as he settles into his new home, rechecking and restoring all the netting and barriers to make the habitat a safe place for this energetic young cat. You can spot Tosya in the grotto he shares with Anya next to the entrance of the Fragile Desert—Tosya will be outside on even-numbered days.