Leopard cubs to become attraction in zoo
They were born to a female leopard called Buri and it is considered a great success as it is a species listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species under the category of vulnerable.
Praha is one of the few
The Clouded Leopard is one of the species threatened by the felling of forests. In nature, it lives in the forests of South and South-east Asia. “So far, scientists know little about it. Only a few years ago, the breeding of the clouded leopards by people was something extraordinary, individual breeding was more or less accidental. It was not until after the assertion of a breeding methodology based on the forming of strong social links between individual leopard couples that their breeding became more frequent. Still, there are only seven places in Europe where clouded leopards have reproduced,” said the curator of the Prague Zoo mammals, Pavel Brandl.
First came triplets
Clouded leopards have been living in the Prague Zoo for almost fifty years. “The first cubs were born in 1969 and they were triplets! This success had then not been repeated for many years. Major breeding successes did not start until 2006, when a couple from Howletts Animal Parku, Great Britain – male Luzon and female Buri - came to Prague Zoo,” pointed out Mr. Brandl.
The Zoo passes cubs to other zoo gardens
Over the last four years, female Buri raised four cubs that are now in Paris, Wuppertal, Berlin and Ostrava. Some of them even have their own offspring.
The latest cubs were born this week and they were two. “The delivery was without complications. One cub was born on Monday at 19.12, the other one around 8 p.m. The female immediately started to look after her cubs,” commented Pavel Brandl.
When? It is not certain yet
Keepers are now monitoring the cubs by means of a camera, as they do not want to intrude in the natural process of making social bonds. Physical check-ups will not happen before the cubs are two weeks old. The new born cubs will be an addition for the Pavilion of Big Cats, where besides their parents lives another older couple of clouded leopards. The public will might have the chance to see the cubs in one month time.
12. March 2010
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