Washington Zoo Welcomes Playful Four-Month-Old Clouded Leopard

Storyful
3 年前

A zoo in Tacoma, Washington, welcomed a playful clouded leopard cub, as part of a ‘Species Survival Plan’, footage shared on December 16 shows.

Zookeepers hope the four-month-old cub, named Rakhan, will eventually mate with 8-year-old female leopard Sang Dao.

“Clouded leopards are highly endangered, and cubs like Rakhan help keep zoo populations healthy and genetically diverse,” Telena Welsh, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s curator of Asian animals, said in a press release. “Breeding clouded leopards in zoos is a crucial way to keep this species from being completely wiped out”.

According to the zoo, Rakhan is adjusting well to his new home, and guests may see him in the cub den in the zoo’s Asian Forest Sanctuary. Credit: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium via Storyful