How the Amur Leopard Endures Harsh Winters: A Rare Cat's Struggle for Survival

An Amur leopard, the rarest cat on Earth. Winter is a difficult time for this hunter. There are no leaves for cover and no young prey animals. This female has the added pressure of having to provide for her 1-year-old cub. It'll be another 12 months before he'll be able to fend for himself. The bickering vultures have abandoned the carcass. It's a valuable discovery for the leopards. But the cub doesn't share its mother's sense of urgency.

The vultures have left behind plenty of good meat, but it's stiff with frost. The mother works to open the hide and make feeding a little easier for her cub. There are only 40 Amur leopards left in the wild. And that number is still falling. The harshness of the winter here hinders their increase in numbers. It takes one of these females longer to raise her young to independence than it does a leopard in Africa. If the mother can sustain her cub for a few more weeks, spring will bring an increase in prey and her task will lighten.