Two Amur leopard cubs born at Pittsburgh Zoo
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
The Pittsburgh Zoo has welcomed two adorable — and critically endangered — new bundles of joy.
The zoo announced the birth of two delightful Amur leopard cubs in a Thursday news release.
The babies were born March 18 to first-time mother Semba, according to the release. The cubs are still unnamed and are out of public view, the zoo explained.
“Semba was born at the Pittsburgh Zoo herself and we’re so glad to see the next generation join us. She’s such a good mom,” said Karen Vacco, the zoo’s assistant curator of mammals, in the release. “Aside from digital monitoring of the denning area, we’re letting them bond. They’re doing well, the babies are nursing and growing just like they should.”
Amur leopards are “one of the rarest subspecies of cats on earth,” according to the news release. There are around 100 of the felines left in the wild in Russia and China, where they make their homes in temperate forests.
The Amur leopard population has been devastated due to poaching, habitat loss, and the loss of their prey populations, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Fans of the adorable cubs will be able to submit name suggestions with a donation, according to the Pittsburgh Zoo.
And while the cubs will receive their vaccinations around June, the zoo will let mother Semba lead the way in determining when she and her cubs are ready to enter public viewing.
“It’s up to them,” said Vacco in the release. “It will be up to Semba when she’s ready to leave the den, and also up to the cubs to follow their mom out into the habitat. We let them choose when they’re ready to explore.”
The-CNN-Wire
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