AMUR LEOPARD

We are delighted to now be home to three Amur Leopards at the park – Luna and brothers Anik & Kazimir.

Luna, our beautiful female Amur Leopard, arrived from Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens on 31st July 2024 and is now fully settled into her new home. She has well and truly stolen the hearts of our staff and visitors alike! Now confident in her surroundings, Luna is showing her true personality — sassy, sneaky, playful, and full of attitude. You can spot her in the left section of the former Lion enclosure, where she loves to explore and keep a watchful eye on her surroundings.

Anik & Kazimir are both playful, inquisitive, and confident brothers, with Anik being the more dominant of the two. They enjoy interacting with enrichment, but after feeding time they prefer to relax on a high platform, either surveying the area or settling down for a well-earned nap.

As of January 2026, Anik has moved into the enclosure next to Luna, marking an exciting new chapter. If all goes well, we could be welcoming Amur Leopard cubs in the future.

Kazimir is currently housed in our off-show enclosure and has some very exciting plans ahead – he will soon be heading to South Korea to meet his future girlfriend as part of the international breeding programme.

Amur Leopards are critically endangered with approx. only 100 left in the wild and our brothers are part of a breeding program that will help reintroduce Amur Leopards back to the wild. Learn more about our project Amur Leopard: Back to the Wild >> HERE <<

You can donate to our project >> HERE <<

Amur Leopards can be found in Russia, Far East & North East China in boreal forests, lowland forests, grasslands and mountains.

They are carnivores and their diet in the wild consists of roe deer, wild boar, hare and sika deer.

Amur Leopards live and hunt alone unless they are in a mating pair or a female with cubs. A female will start breeding for 3 – 4 years old and give birth to a litter of 1 – 6 cubs (2 average). Cubs are weaned at three months of age but stay with their mother for 2 years to learn to hunt. 
They can kill and drag up to three times their own weight into a tree to avoid competition from other predators.

As Apex Predators they are at the top of the food chain and aren’t prayed upon by any other animal.
Due to habitat loss and hunting they are critically endangered, 2016 count was 60 individuals left in the wild and that number is decreasing. Amur Leopards are on the CITES Appendix meaning that international trade of Amur Leopards or any parts is prohibited.
Conservation includes educating people about the importance of them, monitoring their habitat and numbers, and breeding programs to maintain a safety net of numbers within the zoo community.
You can learn more about our project Amur Leopard: Back to the Wild >> HERE <<

Unlike other cats, Amur Leopards are strong swimmers and are one of few cats that like water.