There was a time when the Persian leopard was widely available in the mountain area of Russia. But due to increased activities of poaching and habitat loss, the Persian leopard became endangered species. The specie is considered to be endangered as it is said that fewer than 1,290 Persian leopards lives in Iran, southern Turkmenistan, parts of western Afghanistan and the Caucasus Mountains. Now, efforts are being made to bring back the population of the Persian leopard to normal. In fact, the Persian leopard cubs have also been born in the Persian Leopard Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre, which is at Sochi National Park. It has happened after five decades that the cubs have been born in Russia. The parents of the newly born cubs were brought from Portugal`s Lisbon Zoo in 2012. “[The cubs] will be released into the wild after learning surviving skills and will start a new population of the leopards in the Caucasus Mountains”, said Natalia Dronova, WWF-Russia species coordinator. Umar Semyonov, Head of the breeding centre, said that the cubs do not open their eyes before seven to nine days. In fact, they do not leave their den before they get two months old. Therefore, it is too early to know the sex of the cubs.
