Decline of the Leopard Cat Population in China

City Evening News reported that in recent days, a video shot with an infrared camera has been widely circulated online. The video is 10 seconds long, and the main character is a small creature with beautiful leopard-like patterns all over its body.

It is a leopard cat, which was found in the Jiulongshan National Nature Reserve in Luwei City, Suichang County, Zhejiang Province, and is the first time it has been discovered.

In the video, the leopard cat is brave and flashes the flash without being frightened.

In the ten-second video, the leopard cat is brave, the infrared camera shot, it didn't get frightened at all, it even raised its head and looked at the camera for several seconds before lowering its head.

Yesterday, I contacted Lu Yu, an employee of the Jiulongshan National Nature Reserve Management Center. He said this was captured by an infrared camera set up in the protection area, and a total of two times were captured on February 9 at 17:58 and February 20 at 20:19.

Lu Yu is 30 years old and just graduated from graduate school. He has worked in the protection area for less than a year. On March 18, he and his colleagues went into the mountains. Every year, they would have several times to go up the mountain to check the data of the infrared camera and replace batteries and memory cards.

Colleagues looked at the camera and recognized the leopard cat.

Lu Yu said that they had found leopard cats in the infrared camera shots and photos before, but they were not complete, such as half a body, etc. 'This time it's a complete leopard cat, which can be said to be the first discovery'

'Leopard cats are nocturnal animals and are naturally afraid of people. It will hide when it hears people moving far away. So it's rare to meet it in the mountains. It mainly preys on small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and insects'

Jiulongshan Nature Reserve implements grid management across the board, dividing 63 grid areas, and more than 70 infrared cameras are set up in the wild. The placement is hidden and generally in places where wild animals often appear, such as near water sources and open terrain.

'When animals pass by, due to the temperature difference, the infrared camera will automatically take pictures. We set video and photo recording, video only records 10 seconds.' Lu Yu said.

Jiulongshan National Nature Reserve has been conducting long-term monitoring of national key protected wild animals, including black serows, yellow-throated long-crows, white-necked long-crows, and black bears, white storks, macaque monkeys, Tibetan macaques, etc., which are national level key protected wild animals. Black bears and white storks were found in Jiaowa, and Jiulongshan.

Leopard cats are not leopards, they belong to the protected wild animals of the province, and the protection level is the same as that of the plum blossom bird. It's not uncommon to find leopard cats, but because of their small number, it's rare.

Leopard cats have a slender body, about the size of a domestic cat, but thinner and more slender, with longer legs and a smaller head, and leopard-like spots. They also have strong survival skills.

'Leopard cats are widely distributed in China, and the number of resources is large, and it was one of the (fur skins) exported from China. In the 1960s and 70s, the annual sales volume of leopard cat skins reached 200,000-250,000 pieces. It is estimated that the total number of leopard cats in China is not less than 100,000.

After the 1970s, the number of leopard cats declined in many areas, and in some areas, such as the north and east China, the leopard cat almost became a rare species. In the 1980s, the annual sales volume was only 1/2-1/3 of the 1960s.

In the 1980s, the number of leopard cats in some areas was close to zero. In the 1990s, the number of leopard cats was very small, and some areas such as the north and east China, the leopard cat almost became a rare species. In the 1990s, the number of leopard cats was very small.

The main reasons for the decrease in the number of leopard cats are: long-term hunting and trading as fur; the large-scale planting of forests and crops, which destroyed and degraded the habitat of the leopard cat; hunting as food; and some areas stopped rat-catching and the leopard cat died from poisoning.

Lu Yu sent me some educational materials, with several paragraphs that made me shocked:

Leopard cats are widely distributed in China, and the number of resources is large, and it was one of the (fur skins) exported from China. In the 1960s and 70s, the annual sales volume of leopard cat skins reached 200,000-250,000 pieces. It is estimated that the total number of leopard cats in China is not less than 100,000.

After the 1970s, the number of leopard cats declined in many areas, and in some areas, such as the north and east China, the leopard cat almost became a rare species. In the 1980s, the annual sales volume was only 1/2-1/3 of the 1960s.

The main reasons for the decrease in the number of leopard cats are: long-term hunting and trading as fur; the large-scale planting of forests and crops, which destroyed and degraded the habitat of the leopard cat; hunting as food; and some areas stopped rat-catching and the leopard cat died from poisoning.

Lu Yu sent me some educational materials, with several paragraphs that made me shocked:

Leopard cats are widely distributed in China, and the number of resources is large, and it was one of the (fur skins) exported from China. In the 1960s and 70s, the annual sales volume of leopard cat skins reached 200,000-250,000 pieces. It is estimated that the total number of leopard cats in China is not less than 100,000.

After the 1970s, the number of leopard cats declined in many areas, and in some areas, such as the north and east China, the leopard cat almost became a rare species. In the 1980s, the annual sales volume was only 1/2-1/3 of the 1960s.

The main reasons for the decrease in the number of leopard cats are: long-term hunting and trading as fur; the large-scale planting of forests and crops, which destroyed and degraded the habitat of the leopard cat; hunting as food; and some areas stopped rat-catching and the leopard cat died from poisoning.

Lu Yu sent me some educational materials, with several paragraphs that made me shocked:

Leopard cats are widely distributed in China, and the number of resources is large, and it was one of the (fur skins) exported from China. In the 1960s and 70s, the annual sales volume of leopard cat skins reached 200,000-250,000 pieces. It is estimated that the total number of leopard cats in China is not less than 100,000.

After the 1970s, the number of leopard cats declined in many areas, and in some areas, such as the north and east China, the leopard cat almost became a rare species. In the 1980s, the annual sales volume was only 1/2-1/3 of the 1960s.

The main reasons for the decrease in the number of leopard cats are: long-term hunting and trading as fur; the large-scale planting of forests and crops, which destroyed and degraded the habitat of the leopard cat; hunting as food; and some areas stopped rat-catching and the leopard cat died from poisoning.

Lu Yu sent me some educational materials, with several paragraphs that made me shocked:

Leopard cats are widely distributed in China, and the number of resources is large, and it was one of the (fur skins) exported from China. In the 1960s and 70s, the annual sales volume of leopard cat skins reached 200,000-250,000 pieces. It is estimated that the total number of leopard cats in China is not less than 100,000.

After the 1970s, the number of leopard cats declined in many areas, and in some areas, such as the north and east China, the leopard cat almost became a rare species. In the 1980s, the annual sales volume was only 1/2-1/3 of the 1960s.

The main reasons for the decrease in the number of leopard cats are: long-term hunting and trading as fur; the large-scale planting of forests and crops, which destroyed and degraded the habitat of the leopard cat; hunting as food; and some areas stopped rat-catching and the leopard cat died from poisoning.

Lu Yu sent me some educational materials, with several paragraphs that made me shocked:

Leopard cats are widely distributed in China, and the number of resources is large, and it was one of the (fur skins) exported from China. In the 1960s and 70s, the annual sales volume of leopard cat skins reached 200,000-250,000 pieces. It is estimated that the total number of leopard cats in China is not less than 100,000.