The Newest, Cutest Baby Animals from the World's Zoos & Aquariums

Category: Clouded Leopard

  • Update! Point Defiance’s Clouded Leopard Makes Friends in the Cub Den

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    Point Defiance Zoo's Clouded Leopard cub Tien, first announced HERE on Zooborns, has warmed up to Sumatran Tiger cub Kali at the Zoo's Cub Den. Tien was born on May 1st, making him just over two months old. Tien now weighs 7.8 pounds and continues to grow rapidly.

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    The Cub Den houses all the zoo's cubs, where keepers can care for them and visitors can get a rare glimpse of the interactions between various endangered species. While Kali lives in the den, keepers have been bringing Tien into the den twice a day for feedings and keeper interactions. Keepers are careful to keep an eye on the two because of their size difference. At 25 pounds, Kali is nearly triple the weight of Tien! Read more about Kali on Zooborns here, here and here.

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    Point Defiance Zoo is one of only three zoos in the US that breeds these Endangered cats. Native to Southeast Asia, the Clouded Leopard's habitats are threatened by the expansion of palm oil plantations. Point Defiance Zoo participates in the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP®), which oversees the clouded leopard populations in zoos worldwide and makes breeding recommendations based on the genetics of each cat. 

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    Photo Credit Point Defiance Zoo

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  • It’s Two More Baby Clouded Leopards for Nashville Zoo

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    Cloud pile Amiee Stubbs

    Just six weeks after the birth of a trio of Clouded Leopard cubs reported HERE on ZooBorns, the Nashville Zoo proudly announced that another two cubs were born on April 30! The babies are doing well and are being hand raised by the Zoo’s animal care staff. 

    “Since 2009, 20 Leopards have been born at Nashville Zoo, and in the last year alone, Nashville Zoo welcomed the births of more Clouded Leopards than at all the world’s zoos combined,” said Rick Schwartz, Nashville Zoo President. “We are proud to be on the forefront of Clouded Leopard conservation.”

    Due to deforestation, pet trade and poaching, Clouded Leopards are considered endangered in their native range of Southeast Asia and China, and recently listed as extinct in Taiwan. For the past 11 years, Nashville Zoo has been a member of the Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium, a multi-faceted clouded leopard conservation program with the National Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo, Clouded Leopard Species Survival Program and Zoological Park Organization in Thailand. 

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    Photo Credit: Amiee Stubbs

    The breeding parents to these recent cubs are Lom Choy and Luk. Introducing Clouded Leopards to potential mates is difficult due to the cat’s reclusive disposition. Males are often aggressive and have been known to attack and kill potential female partners. To reduce fatal attacks, cubs are hand-raised and introduced to mates at a young age.  

     

  • Update! Little Clouded Leopards Now Big Enough to Play

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    Who's that peeking out from those stuffed animals? That's Nashville Zoo's Clouded Leopard cubs outside for the first time, playing in the sun and feeling the grass. They were born on March 26, which, if you missed it, you can read about HERE on ZooBorns. This past Sunday, Mother's Day, the zoo asked the public to donate new and gently used stuffed animals for the cubs to use for snuggling and cuddling. And they got right to it, as you can see!

    Clouded Leopards are considered endangered because of deforestation, poaching and the pet trade. Nashville Zoo is a member of the Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium, an ongoing collaboration with the National Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo, Clouded Leopard Species Survival Program and Zoological Park Organization of Thailand (ZPO) to develop a multi-faceted clouded leopard conservation program that includes a viable self-sustaining captive population. 

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    Photo Credit: Amiee Stubbs Photography

  • Every Day is Play Day for Clouded Leopard Cubs

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    Two Clouded Leopard cubs born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
    on February 6 have three goals:  to play,
    play, and play some more!

    At two-and-a-half months old, the cubs are growing fast and
    becoming more adventurous.  Recently, as
    a zoo keeper cleaned their enclosure, the cubs decided to play in the water spraying
    from the hose.  This was the first time
    the cubs experienced getting wet – but as you can see from the photos, they
    didn’t seem to mind at all.

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    Photo Credits:  Janice Sveda, Smithsonian's National Zoo

    The cubs, a male and a female, recently had a routine
    veterinary check-up and were proclaimed healthy and strong.  You can see their baby photos here,
    here,
    and here.

    These two cubs are genetically valuable to the zoo
    population of Clouded Leopards.  The cubs’
    parents, Jao Chu and Hannibal, were born in Thailand and came to the
    Smithsonian as part of a collaborative research program. 

    See more playful photos and read more below the fold.

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  • UPDATE! Clouded Leopard Cubs at Smithsonian’s Front Royal are Growing Up

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    The Clouded Leopard cubs born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute-Front Royal recently turned 2 months old, which means they’re big enough to have access to a larger enclosure with big climbing structures. Keepers report that the cubs spend most of their time playing and like to climb as high as they can! They’ve also mastered eating solid foods and are steadily gaining weight. The male weighs just over 4.5 pounds, and the female weighs about 3.5 pounds.

    Read more about the cubs and see pictures of them as newborns in earlier posts on ZooBorns HERE and HERE.

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    Photo Credit: Janice Sveda, Smithsonian's National Zoo

    Continue after the fold to more of these playful baby pictures!

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  • Nothing Says “It’s Springtime” Like The Birth of Clouded Leopard Cubs

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    Clouded Leopard Cubs 2013 - Amiee Stubbs

    Nashville Zoo is pleased to announce the births of two litters of Clouded Leopard cubs. On March 26, Jing Jai gave birth to one female cub and Baylie gave birth to one male and one female. All three are doing well and are being hand-raised by the Zoo’s animal care staff.

    “Nashville Zoo is a leader in Clouded Leopard conservation, with 18 Clouded Leopards born at our off-exhibit breeding facility since 2009,” said Karen Rice, carnivore supervisor at Nashville Zoo. “These cubs will remain a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Clouded Leopard population as breeding cats, education or exhibit animals. Whatever role they play, they will contribute to the ongoing conservation effort.” 

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    Photo credits: Amiee Stubbs

     

    Clouded Leopards are considered endangered because of deforestation, poaching and the pet trade. Nashville Zoo is a member of the Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium, an ongoing collaboration with the National Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo, Clouded Leopard Species Survival Program and Zoological Park Organization of Thailand (ZPO) to develop a multi-faceted clouded leopard conservation program that includes a viable self-sustaining captive population. 

    See more pictures and learn more below the fold…

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  • (UPDATE!) National Zoo Clouded Leopard Cubs Grow Up and Chow Down

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    The Clouded Leopard cubs born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., Feb. 6, are healthy and growing. At nearly two months old, they just received their first vaccinations. As they have grown, their diet has changed to match their appetites and nutritional needs. When the cubs were first born they were bottle-fed by keepers every couple of hours, but they recently graduated from bottle-only feedings. In addition to fewer bottle feedings, they receive four feedings of chopped and cooked chicken meat mixed with a small feline diet. The male cub weighs almost three and a half pounds and his female sibling just over two and a half pounds. The cubs will remain at SCBI until they are three and a half months old. They will then move to other zoos for eventual breeding as recommended by the Species Survival Plan. Listed as vulnerable to extinction in the wild, SCBI has successfully bred more than 70 clouded leopards over the past 30 years and is a leader in conservation science initiatives to save the species.

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    Photo credits: Janice Sveda, Smithsonian's National Zoo

    See many more pictures beneath the fold…

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  • Two Handfuls of Clouded Leopard Born at Smithsonian National Zoo

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    Clouded leopard hero

    On February 6th, two Clouded Leopard cubs were born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute of Smithsonian National Zoo. 

    Six days later, the zoo announced that the cubs had opened their eyes and had healthy appetites, drinking milk seven times a day! 

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    Photo Credits: Janice Sveda / Smithsonian National Zoo

    Watch caretakers of Smithsonian National Zoo hand-rearing Clouded Leopard cubs born in March 2011. Sita and Ta Moon are the mother and father of this year's newborn cubs as well as the cubs in the video. 

     
    Learn more about Clouded Leopards after the fold. 

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  • Two Playful Clouded Leopard Cubs Arrive at San Diego Zoo

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    Two 14-week-old Clouded Leopard cubs, Riki-san and Haui-san, were spotted pouncing, climbing and using each other as trampolines in the San Diego Zoo's Children’s Zoo nursery. The cubs arrived earlier this week from the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, where a very successful breeding program has helped to increase the population of this critically endangered species. 

    Brothers Riki-san and Haui-san will spend 30 days in quarantine, where they are visible to the public daily and have already become guest favorites. After this quarantine period, the cubs will join the Zoo’s Backstage Pass animal ambassador program.

    Named for its cloud-like spots, the male Clouded Leopard can weigh up to 50 pounds 22.6 kgs). This cat is found mostly in the Southeast Asian rain forest and is an excellent swimmer and climber. In fact, the Clouded Leopard and the Margay from South America are the only cat species that can climb down a tree head first, thanks to the flexibility of the ankle joints. 

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    Photo Credit: ZSSD/San Diego Zoo

    Thirteen-pound Riki-san (right) is the larger of the two cats but is also the more timid one. His coat pattern is darker and his rosettes more pronounced. According to zookeepers, Haui-san, at 11.5 pounds, is feisty and quite playful, enticing his bigger brother to wrestle and play a game of chase.

  • Rare Clouded Leopard Birth at Singapore Night Safari

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    Barely a year since its first successful birth of Clouded Leopards, Night Safari recently welcomed another litter of cubs. The three cubs that arrived on 14 April 2012 were born to parents Tawan and Wandee, who had their first litter in May last year. Clouded Leopards are among the world’s rarest and most secretive wild cat species.

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    Singapore Night Safari

    Named for the cloud-like patterns of their coats, which help them disappear into the shadows of the forest, Clouded Leopards are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity. This second birth is a result of a planned breeding program, which saw the introduction of Tawan and Wandee at an early age to promote bonding and minimise aggression. The mating pair arrived from Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo three years ago.

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