According to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), the very rare Amur leopard is now doubling its population in Russia. The elusive species is considered on the brink of extinction.

To date, there are around 65 to 69 of these large cats also considered the world's rarest up from 30 in 2007. The cats are found in the Land of the Leopard National Park in Russia. An additional eight to 12 leopards live in China.

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The park was established in 2012, spans 60 percent of the cat's habitat and covers all the leopards' breeding grounds. According to Yury Darman who is the head of WWF Russian Amur Branch, the national park quickly became the main organizational force that promotes leopard protection and research.

Many conservationists are hoping to establish a nature reserve that will span the expanse of the Chinese and Russian border to further protect these rare wild cats.

According to Barney Long who leads the Asian species conservation efforts for the WWF in the U.S., this strong rebound of Amur leopard numbers is proof that even the most critically endangered species of large cats can recover from dwindling populations if enough efforts are shown in protecting their habitat and conservation.

He adds there is still a lot more work to be accomplished to secure a safer future for the Amur leopard. These population numbers show conservation efforts are all moving in the right direction.

The population increase of the Amur leopards derives from the line of the wild Amur or Siberian tigers found in China that apparently haven't been seen in the region for over 65 years.

Rare footage captured by the WWF from a camera trap was taken 20 miles from the Russian border late last year. Prior to this, only footprints of the cats were the only evidence of the Amur tigers dwelling in China.

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