I've had another request. We've done leopards before, in conjunction with tigers. The leopards, to me, were just a class act. I trapped them in far eastern Russia, along the coast of the Sea of Japan. They had never before been radio-collared. The Russians told me there were about 24 of them left in the world. Turns out, there were a few more, but not many. The Far Eastern Leopard is probably the most endangered cat in the world.

I tried to locate tracks upon which to set foot snares for the leopards. Here is a leopard, along with a sable and rabbits.



A big male leopard at a bait/camera site.



They really don't look like it, but they blend in pretty good in the oak leaves.



This cat is munching on a piece of roe deer hide we left for bait.



A big male foot-snared at a blind trail set.



Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy. Jack

What a spectacular career you’ve had!

Awesome stuff!

That’s an incredible cat.

W O W and super wow. I did not even know that leopards existed anywhere hear there. Amazing......jk

How many were collared and is the study still being conducted.

Thanks for the continuing education Jack…it’s much appreciated.

Only 5 were collared. They tried 6 biologists after me; all gave up. The project is no longer running.

Amazing Photos!
Awesome Animals

Very cool!

Has always been my favorite big cat, thank you for all your posts. When I was young you are what I wanted to be when I grew up. Thanks, Charlie

Jack, are they as 'calm' once trapped, as some lynx seem to be ?

Wonderful shots and info, Jack. I first heard of them some years ago in a documentary. All of the leopard types of the world, are gorgeous.

white17 - Like most cats, they are fairly calm in the trap. When humans approach with the blowgun, however, these leopards get a little western.
No, not calm as those "I could give-a-care" lynx.

Jack

Got it !! Thanks !!

How many years back was that Jack? Do you reckon there are still as many around as back then?

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

That was 30 years ago, beaverpeeler. I suspect there are fewer now. The border (barely to the west) is permeable, and Chinese poachers are rampant taking the leopard's main food (musk deer) and taking the leopard itself. Siberian tigers (mainly to the north of the leopards), seem to be doing okay.

Jack

Unfortunately, that was what I was afraid to hear.

Wow what an incredible animal and photos! You are truly blessed to have led the life you have. You have gone places and seen critters most of us only dream about. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, what cool cat and photos, thanks for posting. I hope the can survive in this modern world.

Very cool. Would love to see a leopard up close and personal. Were you using ketaset and xylazine on leopards and tigers Jack?

Very nice

Thank you Jack for bring us along on another grand adventure that was just another day in your life , the sights , sounds then the overall experience had to be a bit of a adrenalin rush at times .

No Dan. In 1993 I switched over to Telezol from Ketamine/xylazine. It was much more predictable and forgiving. Sounds like you've done a few cats?

Jack

Gulo And even more stunning pictures of an awesome beast It is my opinion that the more up close you can
observe a critter the more you notice the subtle differences in their fur or feathers the more incredible they become .I would only guess that this species is simar in differences in the patterns Another example of the beauty that exists in nature I would think handling a beast like this would cause the hair on your neck to stand up Gulo How much does some thing like this weigh And are they a serious predator to native wildlife

Nice photos of a beautiful animal!

west side -

Looking at the few that I caught, along with a couple of poached ones, they were about 100 pounds average, but highly variable; adult females at 70-75 lbs., adult males 120-130 lbs. All muscle.

Yes very few would want to wrestle with one !!

Yes, I did cougar research in Southern Utah for my masters degree (83-85). We used hounds and a CO2 pistol (or grab a tail and hand inject) with ketamine and rompun. After that for many years I was able to buy a vile of ketamine (with a mil of ace mixed in) from the local vet. tI carried it in my state truck to release cougars bobcat trappers caught. When that ended it was a catch pole and a brave friend to release the incidental cougars.

On the wolf trapping I do (for radiocollaring), am using Telezol also. Use it also for black bears and lions. Used it extensively for helicopter darting grizzlies in se Alaska, too. I used to use a catch-pole, but found it was easier on the lions and bears, and easier on me, to just anesthetize them all. By the way, you ever know Maurice Hornocker and ever talk with him about the lions?

Jack

I don't much like using the catch pole on lions either but drugs were no longer an option for me. Now we can harvest lions we trap, and I like that option. I read all Maurice's stuff but never had the pleasure of meeting him. It would have been fun to tag along with you and Maurice and Rocky Mcbride on some of those big cat research projects.