Habitats, distribution and abundance of the Amur lynx, Lynx lynx stroganovi, and the Far Eastern leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis euptilura, in the Lazovsky Nature Reserve and the Zov Tigra National Park (Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East)

Abstract

Analysis of long-term data of the population status of large predators is the most important environmental monitoring task in all protected areas. The aim of the study was to investigate the distribution and abundance of two cohabiting feline species in protected areas in southern Sikhote- Alin: the Lazovsky Nature Reserve and the Zov Tigra National Park. GIS maps of the distribution of the lynx and the Far Eastern leopard cat in the reserve during the 20th and 21st centuries and the fi nal maps for 60 years are given. It has been established that the lynx inhabits the reserve and the national park quite evenly, while the leopard cat prefers habitats closer to the coast of the Sea of Japan, and at a distance from the coast, in river valleys. The results of winter route counts of these two species over 60 last years are analyzed. The camera trap data showing the distribution and the relative abundance index of the lynx and the Far Eastern forest cat are summarized for 2015–2021 both in the reserve and in the national park in general, and separately in the rocky forest habitats. The average density of the lynx in the reserve is estimated at 1.9 individuals per 100 km2 and 3.3 individuals per 100 km2 in the national park. The density of the cat in the reserve and the park is the same and equals to 20 individuals per 100 km2.