John is also the veterinary advisor to the captive Amur leopard population, some of which will be recruited to breed the leopards that will eventually be released. Health data collected from both wild and captive Amur leopards is entered into the Amur Leopard Veterinary Database Something big will be happening this year. Nineteen staff from Colchester Zoo will take to the skies and dive from 13,000 feet to raise funds for veterinary work around Amur leopards in Russia. The ‘Colchester Zoo 19’ are staff from all parts of the zoo. The team consists of animal keepers and a curator plus staff from Guest Services, the Play Area team and the Ground Maintenance team.

We aim to raise a total of over £3,000 for Wildlife Vets International (WVI), an organisation that provides veterinary support to conservation projects in various parts of the world. The funds, we will be raising will help with the most ambitious of all; WVI’s pivotal role in the proposed re-introduction of the rarest big cat species on earth – the Amur leopard. Dr. John Lewis from WVI visits Russia at least once a year to help local vets and conservation teams with the medical examination of Amur leopards and other wildlife species within their current home range and within the potential release area. Furthermore, he trains local vets and teams that deal with conflict situations, in safe sedation of Amur leopards and tigers as well as in sample taking and storage. John is also the veterinary advisor to the captive Amur leopard population, some of which will be recruited to breed the leopards that will eventually be released. Health data collected from both wild and captive Amur leopards is entered into the Amur Leopard Veterinary Database. The health of leopards in both populations can be then monitored and compared to ensure that the leopards to be reintroduced do not bring in diseases that can wipe out the remaining 35-40 in the wild. His work is vital to provide Amur leopards with a chance to establish a second population successfully within Russia. As WVI has not an unlimited resource of funds and can only initiate work once funds have come in, the ‘Colchester Zoo 19’ are determined to raise at least £3,000 to enable WVI to provide in situ training, conduct medical examinations and to research a health issue, which could potentially be fatal for the current Amur leopard population; Canine Distemper Virus, which wiped out large cats in East Africa in the 1990s. Funds will be raised through Colchester Zoo’s charity ‘Action For The Wild’ and will be forwarded to Wildlife Vets International once the ‘Colchester Zoo 19 – Skydive’ has taken place on 4 August 2013. We are hoping very much to gain your support. Please come and see us either on the day at Chatteris Airfield, or at our stall outside the tiger enclosure at Colchester Zoo and at Sainsbury’s in Stanway (dates to be announced shortly). Alternatively, you can also donate directly to Action For The Wild and quote ‘Colchester Zoo 19’. Thank you very much for your support in advance! Kelly Hand Colchester Zoo -- As Colchester Zoo's vet, John brought the field work to the zoo when he asked the staff to train their leopard to stand still so he could listen to his heart while awake and under anaesthetic. Colchester Zoo provided a 'normal' with which to compare heart murmurs he was hearing in wild leopards. It turns out that Amur leopards are susceptable to anaesthesia induced heart murmurs (so not a problem with their hearts). AFTW have supported WVI's Amur leopard project since 2010, donating £11,000 to date, with a pledged £5,000 for 2013.