This is the SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, I'm Barbara Klein. Animal experts say one of the world's most beautiful and rare kinds of big cat is close to disappearing from the wild. A study earlier this year found that about thirty Amur leopards still live free. The cats are also called Far Eastern leopards. Recently, their number has been reduced by one, Some person shot a female Amur, then beat her to death. The animal's body was discovered last month in the Barsovy National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Russia. An official of the World Wildlife Fund, Darron, said this was the third such killing in the area in the past fives years. Mr, Collins said the death of even one adult female is a huge loss for the endangered cat, He noted that the killing reduces the possibility for cubs or young. It is not clear how many Amur leopards still live free. One population count was performed in February and March. Wildlife expert Dmitry Pikuuov led this study. It found evidence of seven to nine males. The study identified three to seven females without cubs, Four leopards were identified as females with cubs. In all, five or six cubs were recorded, Six to eight animals could not be identified. Most of the land where the Amur leopard once lived was in China.New roads and climate change there threatened the animals. So did hunters who kill big cats for their body parts. Mr. Pikuuov says adult Amurs need about five hundred square kilometers with good forests to survive. He said they also need a large and continuing supply of animals like deer for food. He believes the answer to saving the Amur leopard is for governments to provide protected spaces for wildlife. According to the experts the Amur leopards  _  .
are living on plants are living in the zoo are well protected by people are endangered