Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
This time-lapse footage shows an endangered leopard cub fleeing from a devastating bush fire at the last second.
The incident was filmed by a hidden camera in the Land of the Leopard National Park in the south-eastern Russian region of Primorsky Krai, bordering with North Korea.
A national park spokesperson told local media: “The Amur leopard cub (Panthera pardus orientalis), the rarest cat in the world, almost fell victim to the flames.”
Workers reportedly doused the flames to save the cub from being burned.
According to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCM), the Amur leopard is considered ‘critically endangered’.
The spokesperson added that the hidden camera helped park rangers to save the cub.
A statement said: “Park workers arrived at the scene quickly and managed to extinguish the fire.”
National park head Viktor Bardyuk said the video shows how dangerous bush fires can be for the animals.
Bardyuk added: “This demonstrates how real and terrifying fires are for endangered species.”
The national park was set up in 2012 as part of a project to protect the critically endangered Amur leopards when there were only around 30 left in the region.
In 2015, their numbers had risen to around 60 in Russia and northern China before increasing by another 30 in 2019, according to reports.
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