Wed Apr 18, 5:19 PM ET
MOSCOW (AFP) - The green group WWF Wednesday urged the Russian government to set up a national reserve in the country's far-east to protect the endangered Amur leopard.
According to the last survey carried out by Russian and American scientists, between 24 and 35 leopards remain in their natural habitat spread over three reserves located near the Chinese border and along the Amur river.
"Instead of three reserves where the nearby human presence constitutes a menace for the survival of the fauna, the Russian government can set up a national reserve spread over 200,000 hectares," Igor Tchestine, head of the WWF's Russian chapter told a press conference.
"Zoos have several hundreds of Amur leopards and these could be set free," there, he said.
Amur leopards are indigenous only to eastern Russia and China and are targetted by poachers.
A female leopard fetches up to 50,000 dollars (36,000 euros) while the penalty for killing one is only 20,000 roubles, said Oleg Mitvol, the number two at the Russian ecological watchdog Rosprirodnadzor.
"In China there are only a handful of Amur leopards left," he said. "All the body parts of the female are used for making medicines -- even whiskers and teeth."
(AFP/DDP/File/Sebastian Willnow)
URL:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070418/sc_afp/russiaenvironment_070418211901;_ylt=AlgIqjKi6tyby8tdh7ThBxQTO7gF
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