Land of the Leopard National Park, National park in Primorsky Krai, Russia.
Land of the Leopard National Park is a protected area of about 2,799 km² in Primorsky Krai, roughly 70 km southwest of Vladivostok. It stretches about 150 km from the Amur Bay coast to the Tumannaya River on the Chinese border, and its western edge follows the Russia–China frontier. The park merged Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve, Barsovy and Borisovkoye refuges with new border land.
The park was gazetted on 5 April 2012, merging the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve (established 1916), the Barsovy Federal Wildlife Refuge and the Borisovkoye Plateau Regional Wildlife Refuge with new land along the Chinese border. Ecologists and Sergey Ivanov, then head of the presidential executive office, pushed for the merger after poaching and wildfires had reduced the Amur leopard's range to a narrow strip of southwest Primorsky Krai.
Each leopard photographed by the park's camera traps receives an identification number and a name; Leo 5F was named Dunya by Sergey Ivanov, and leopards such as Grace, Cleopatra and Lord live here. The spots form a pattern that never changes, like a human fingerprint, and researchers use it to tell individuals apart.
The park is most easily reached from nearby Vladivostok through organized guided tours focused on wildlife watching and photography. Plan your visit during warmer months when animals are more active and weather conditions suit extended time outdoors.
The territory holds roughly half of all remaining Amur leopards in the world, making it one of the most crucial refuges for this critically endangered cat. The concentration of these animals here underscores why protection efforts at this location are so vital.
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