COMMANDER RALPH'S MAGIC TIME PORTAL TO THE RARE AMUR LEOPARD

Well, since I have an exclusive interview with one of the rarest
big cats on your planet.....and the fact that they are in danger
of extinction....I can't give you the exact location, but let's say
I'm somewhere in Far East Russia somewhere in the Primorskii
region, OK?

Yes, I have....our numbers are so few, that I thought it would be a good
idea for you to get to know us better and the challenges we face straight
from the leopard's mouth. But before we begin, we, meaning all that
remains of us, have made you a special gift to take back to your planet.
We borrowed your camera, George. He snapped lots of photos of us...We
did find that he does have a mind of own when it comes to taking pictures.
He's a little wild himself. Would you like to see them now?

That was spectacular! I must give George credit, when he puts his mind
to something he does a good job! Boris, I don't think many people know
about your way of life and leopards in general. Can you tell us a little?

No problem. We Leopards are fearless, and have earned the nickname
'Supercat' from many scientists and famous hunters. From scientists, we
can accept that compliment. From hunters, well... all of us would like to
forget them! We can run at speeds of 37 miles per hour, but only for a
short time, and......

True, IF they were natural, but these are started by the farmers, not
intentionally, but they burn their fields in autum and winter to increase
fertility for their crops. Unfortunately, their fields are so close to the
forest now, that it spreads into the forest. After awhile the forest, our
home and home to the other animals including our prey, turns into
meadows. We keep going deeper into the forest, but in all honesty our
forests are getting smaller and smaller. We understand that people also
need to live and eat, but what we can't understand is why they won't
share the land it with us. .

That's only the tip of the iceburg, my friend. Then there's the poachers
and trophy hunters. They hunt us for our beautiful spotted fur. Because
the humans now live so close to the forests, it's easier for them to not
only hunt us but also the other animals, the food chain is way out of
balance. They hunt not only for food, but also for money. And also...........

Before we get to that, I want to make one thing absolutely clear, we Far
Eastern Leopards DO NOT attack humans. In fact, because our sight and
hearing is so good we know when humans are about, so we can escape with
stealth, also it serves us when we're hunting. However, many of our young
leopards are very curious and sometimes they follow humans, staying out
of site of course and definitely not showing any aggression towards them.
Now the other problem is this...with so few of us around, sometimes
inbreeding occurs. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing, because it only
increases our weaknesses. As you can see we've got a mountain of
problems to overcome.

Then there's the WWF. They're a group of people who care about the
future of Planet Earth. Their goal is to stop the degradation of the
planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in
harmony with nature. They believe that by conserving the world's
biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources
is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption, this Planet will be a better world for all. The fantastic is,
they have created an ecological strategy game, called Rescue the Russian
Leopard (Amur Leopard) for people of all ages to play. The best player's
strategies will be implemented by WWF for its real conservation
activities. So not only do the the players learn what nature conservation
is, but also what should be done to achieve success.

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Mmmm......Ok....We've very good and skillful hunters. We can jump vertically
up to ten feet and double horizontally. Pound for pound, we're 10 times
stronger than humans. Because we are that strong, we can carry our food
into the trees which protects it from other predators. Once we finish
eating, we can go down head first. We mainly like to eat roe, sila deer,
hares, badgers and smaller rodents. The problem is that it's getting harder
and harder to find food.

Ah...yes, there's more. There is a two fold problem. First, let me tell you
a little about our nature. We're very solitary animals and basically
nocturnal. We like the quiet of the mountain forest. We don't like
disturbances, especially around our breeding sites.

Keep your knickers on, youngster, and let me finish! There's been an
increasing number of people visitng forests. When our females find the
slightest trace of humans they start to move their cubs to a different
place. She carries them in her mouth one by one. Before you interupt.....
That in itself is not the problem, but generally in the low spring
temperatures, the last cub is left alone for a long time without the warmth
of its mother. And sometimes it dies. Remember there are only 25 to 34
of us left in the wild. We only have 6 females left because one was killed
last April. We need at least 100 of us in order to avoid extinction!

Through donations, school projects, selling T-shirts and lots more. In fact,
there's the Amur Leopard Conservation Support Programme(ALCSP) the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ...... they have developed a fantastic.......

True, we're visitors to Planet Earth, but it doesn't matter where a person
is from....only that they're willing to help a good cause, and we think
protecting the enviornment is absolutley necessary for this planet to
survive and to grow. That means protecting the balance of nature with
man.

You're great Ralph...thanks for giving me the time to explain our
situation in person. It's getting dark and I'm getting hungry..... I
won't say goodbye, just so long for now. Hope to see you soon!

This is a very special link
to the ALCSP web site
You can wisit with the
people who work day in
and day out to help save
these animals and others. Learn all
the different ways you can help.
There's a ton of things you can do!
Just click on the Leopard.
Well, what are you waiting for?

Also, my brother Captain Bootsie Bear and the rest of us had a crew
meeting and established a special donation page for the Zoological
Society of London, specifically to help you and the rest of your
family.

Give me a sec to explain, OK? First, there's The Amur Leopard
Conservation Support Programme orALCSP which is part of the Zoological
Society of London ZSL and works in cooperation with other organisations
to coordinate raising awareness and channels funds to projects working in
the field. ALCSP is also a part of the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance or
ALTA. They are working hard to increase public awareness of and political
support for the conservation of both the Amur leopard and the Amur
tiger.

The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide
conservation of animals and their habitats. They have a library founded
in 1826, and is one of the major zoological libraries in the world and is
open to all. The library contains a wide range of books and journals on
all types of animals and their conservation. It has more than 200,000
volumes and 5,000 journal titles, 1,300 of which are current . It is
awesome!