A critically endangered Amur leopard cub is thriving at Potawatomi Zoo after round-the-clock care

A critically endangered Amur leopard cub born at Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana, is thriving after weeks of round-the-clock care from keepers, the zoo said on 23 October. The male cub, not yet named, was born on 8 September to Anastasia and Mango.

A first-time mother, then hand-rearing

It was Anastasia's first cub. She cleaned him but did not provide the care and feeding he needed, and attempts to reunite them failed, so the animal care team and the zoo's veterinarian decided to hand-rear him. Staff looked after him around the clock for his first few weeks.

The zoo said it has a history of breeding Amur leopards and is confident Anastasia will succeed with a future litter. A new Amur leopard and tiger habitat, Big Cat Tracks, is being completed and is designed to support further breeding.

“Since there are so few of these leopards in the wild and zoos, each birth is so important.” — Josh Sisk, Executive Director, Potawatomi Zoo

One of the rarest big cats

About 100 Amur leopards live in the wild and about 200 in zoos worldwide, according to the zoo. The pairing of Anastasia and Mango was recommended by the Amur Leopard Species Survival Plan, which manages breeding among zoos to keep the population genetically healthy. Critically Endangered is the highest risk category on the IUCN Red List short of extinction in the wild; our Red List explainer sets out what it means.

A future match at another zoo

The zoo plans to raise the cub until he can move to another zoo, where he would ideally be paired with a female as the Species Survival Plan recommends. It did not say when he will go on view. More stories of rare animals are collected under endangered species.