The Potawatomi Zoo on Friday announced the recent birth of the world’s rarest cat. It’s part of an effort to bring the Amur leopard back from the brink of extinction.
There are only 100 Amur leopards left in the wild, all in Russia, and only 200 left in zoos. Make that 201.
The still unnamed male cub was recently born to Anastasia and Mango, in a mating that was recommended by the Amur Leopard Species Survival Plan.
Zoo executive director Josh Sisk says the birth is a huge win for the species. He says zoo staff have had to bottle feed the cub because mom hasn’t shown interest in rearing him.
“The fact that she didn’t injure it or anything was a good sign," Sisk says. "She would carry it around. She cleaned it. But she took it outside and dropped it and was just ignoring it and letting it cry out in the yard, and it was starting to lose body temperature, so that’s when we had to pull it and warm it up. So unfortunately with first-time moms that happens a lot, so that’s when the staff said if we don’t do something and intervene, we’re going to lose this little kitten.”
Sisk says the public won’t be able to see the cub until the zoo reopens in the spring, coinciding with opening of its new Big Cat Tracks habitat under construction.
NOTE: In full disclosure, the Potawatomi Zoo is a financial supporter of WVPE.
