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Action for the Wild Charity no 1105621 |
| Latest News |
| Wildlife Vets International - Amur Leopard update Posted: 05/07/2010 |
 Action for the Wild is sponsoring Wildlife Vets International (WVI), and has recently donated £5,000 towards the project. WVI provides veterinary support for conservation efforts to save the critically endangered Amur Leopard in the Russian Far East. There is estimated to be as few as 25 individual Amur leopards surviving in the Russian Far East.During the autumn of 2009, WVI continued with their hard work of capacity building, captive leopard screening, monitoring heart murmurs in captive leopards and trapping. The long term future of the Amur leopard is hugely dependant on local wildlife veterinary support. During some bad weather, Dr. Lewis worked closely with a young Russian field vet Dr. Gonchuruk, and looked at Russian literature for references on infectious diseases in the area. There was also time to analyse two post mortem examinations of wild Amur leopards and summit it to the local vet school in Ussurisk. Towards the end of the season, Dr. Lewis was able to participate in a workshop teaching vets and vet students about wildlife medicine. Health screening of captive bred populations is a very important part of this project, and will aid in the reintroduction program. If any feline disease was released into the region then it could jeopardize the future of the existing wild Amur leopard leopard and tiger populations. To date, 36 cats within the European Captive Breeding Programme (EEP) have been comprehensively or partially screened. No cat will be transferred to the Russian Far East until all tests provide a satisfactory result. All data collected will be entered into the Amur leopard Veterinary Database, funded by WVI supporters. Dr. Lewis has examined Amur leopards both in the wild and captivity and has detected heart murmurs. Detailed investigations were conducted on 10 affected captive individuals; results showed that the murmur was a direct consequence of the anaesthetized animal’s position. Similar findings have been reported, this demonstrates the information from studying captive populations is directly relevant to findings from wild counterparts. The 2009 field season was full of frustrations; no wild leopards were caught. Bad snow storms and minus temperatures at the end of season meant that trapping had to stop, as in these conditions leopards can get injured by the traps. An Asiatic bear was trapped and after investigation it was found that Lyme disease is present in the area. Evidence suggests this has not directly arisen from leopards but could affect the current population, so this will be monitored. Picuture: Wild Amur Leopard (c) John Lewis |
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No. 1105621 Trustees A C Downing, S D Knuckey, L J Spurgeon, P R Johnson