Science is Fun Fridays!
I'm still watching that 'Wild Russia' documentary, so this will be Chapter 3 - the Primorye region, (or Primorsky Krai), which runs along China and the Sea of Japan.
This area is home to the Amur leopard, also known as the Far East leopard. The World Wildlife Foundation lists them as critically endangered, with only 84 individuals known to be alive, and is considered one of the rarest cats on Earth.
Poaching is one of the greatest threats to the animal, but WWF is also monitoring populations and protecting the habitat by working to reduce logging practices and lobbying to reroute planned pipelines.
And here we have the raccoon dog - while they are in the Canidae family, they are more closely related to foxes than dogs. I had just never heard of such an animal!
The Sikhote-Alin Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, helping to protect the endangered Amur tiger, better known as the Siberian tiger.
This area has not been subjected to ice cover in the past like much of Siberia, so the flora is rich and diverse. Ancient species, such as the Chosenia willow, have been preserved in what is called the far Eastern Prairie.
**Side note:
The capital of this region in Russia is Vladivostok, which is a song I love from a local band.
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