The Greenville Zoo today announced the birth of two Amur leopard cubs. The leopard subspecies is the most endangered cat in the world.
“The newborns, born Feb. 10, are the second litter of 9-year-old female Jade and 13-year-old male Nelkan. The birth is a success for the zoo’s conservation efforts, since the Amur leopard is the most endangered cat in the world.
The mother and cubs are doing fine and have been monitored through a camera in the leopards’ indoor holding area. Besides venturing to eat and stretch outside of the family’s den, Jade spends most of her time with the newborns.
Nelkan, the cubs’ father, has been sent to the Philadelphia Zoo to help alleviate Jade’s stress. “In the wild, males and females usually do not remain together after breeding occurs, so this separation is important for the health of Jade and the cubs,” the announcement said. The move is temporary, and Nelkan will be returned to the zoo after the cubs are grown.
The male leopard had been transferred to the Greenville Zoo from Berlin’s Zoo Hoyerswerda in 2016 to breed with Jade as part of the Amur Leopard Species Survival Plan. Jade, transferred from the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana, in 2011, gave birth to the pair’s first cubs, a female and a male, in 2017.”
