‘Historic event’: Rescued leopard Leo 260M returned to the wild

The rescued leopard Leo 260M has returned to the wild, according to the Telegram channel “Land of the Leopard”. The Ussuri Nature Reserve, where leopards disappeared more than 50 years ago, became a new home for the orphan animal.

The Leo 260M was salvaged by Land of the Leopard in July 2022. At the Rehabilitation Center, he received help and treatment, mastered the skills of hunting for large prey, “passing all the exams with excellent marks.” It is clarified that the beast remained truly wild.

Experts, including leading zoologists of Russia from the Institute of Ecology and Evolution named after A. A.N. Severtsov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a decision was made: the matured male is ready to return to the wild. The Ussuri Nature Reserve was chosen as the place of release.

The Leo 260M was the third leopard to be safely released in the area. At the end of May, for the first time in half a century, Far Eastern leopards appeared here, young male Leo 270M and female Leo 284F. As in the case of the first predators, the release was carried out in a “soft way”, through a special enclosure. Currently, the behavior of all three leopards is monitored using camera traps and satellite collars.

⭐️ This is a historic event, the world’s first case of successful rehabilitation and reintroduction of this rare subspecies of predators. The place of release of the leopard is important. Now these predators are returning to places where they have not been seen for decades. This became possible thanks to the preservation of the population in their main territory – in the National Park “Land of the Leopard”, where animals are protected from poaching, logging and natural fires. Since the turn of the century, the leopard population has more than tripled, from 35 to 125 individuals. The work is carried out with the support of ANO Far Eastern Leopards.