The Caucasus Nature Reserve is one of the largest protected areas in Russia. European bison, wolves, and brown bears roam these highlands. And now, they are joined by Persian leopards. The last time these big cats were seen in the reserve was in 1984. In 2008, a major programme was launched to return them to the wild.
Sean Thomas heads into the mountains to find out how scientists and forest rangers in the Caucasus Reserve are preparing leopards for life in the wild. It’s a very demanding assignment: the predators must learn to hunt, to avoid humans, and to survive harsh snowy winters. At the breeding centre, they are monitored round the clock via cameras and undergo survival tests. Today, twelve animals are kept at the centre, and their offspring are already hunting in the Caucasus mountains.
How can wilderness be preserved when civilisation creeps ever closer to the reserve’s borders? And why is the return of predators so vital to the balance of the ecosystem?
