I’ve been to a good number of zoos. More than most, I’d venture to say, but not nearly as many as some. There are habitats at every zoo that are special. The animals that call them home have their own personalities, and those personalities include a general preference for seclusion.
This is one of those animals. You’re not generally going to see this Amur Leopard on your average trip to the Denver Zoo. I’ll catch this beauty outside maybe one in ten visits. Up close and not taking a nap? That’s special.
The Denver Zoo isn’t the only place an Amur Leopard sighting is rare. There are only 176 of them in zoos worldwide, so even having the opportunity to see one there is pretty rare. Worse still, as of 2015, there were less than 100 in the wild. They really are one of the rarest animals in existence.
That being said, they’re slowly becoming one of conservation’s success stories. Those wild numbers? They were down to less than 50 for a while. There’s a lot that a lot of people could say about Russian president Vladimir Putin, but the work his government has put into saving these incredible cats cannot be undersold.
The Zootographer 