Endangered leopard loose as Moscow demolition progresses.
Last week, we reported that a Moscow resident was planning to protect his home from demolition with a little help from his pet leopard. And, unless this particular part of Moscow has its own leopard breeding programme, it appears that he wasn’t joking.
A leopard found in Moscow’s Rechnik neighborhood, which the city is demolishing in the face of residents’ protests, will be sheltered as experts determine if the cat is an endangered species from the Far East.
The female cat, raised among humans, cannot be returned to the wild, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in an e-mailed statement Friday.
If it is an Amur leopard, it will be sent to a preserve in Sochi, the Black Sea resort set to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. If it is an African leopard, it will be given to a zoo, the ministry said.
According to this Moscow Times news report, the owner of the leopard was not identified….but local officials might want to start their investigations by speaking to Sergie Bobyshev, the man behind the original leopard threats.
Read more here.
