SAN DIEGO (CBSLA) — People visitng the recently reopened San Diego Zoo will get a first look at two endangered Amur leopard cubs.
The cubs, born on April 26, can be seen as they explore their outdoor habitat with mom, Satka.
Pair of Endangered Amur Leopard Cubs Born at the San Diego Zo
Guests at the reopened San Diego Zoo are getting a first look at two endangered Amur leopard cubs, born April 26, 2020, as they explore their outdoor habitat with mom, Satka. The cubs' birth is particularly significant for their species, as fewer than 100 Amur leopards are believed to exist in their historic range in Russia and China.
After their birth, the cubs spent most of their time in an indoor habitat with Satka. They started to emerge from their den at 20 days old, and had their first visit to the outdoor habitat 10 days later. They are now venturing out to explore with their mother daily.
Satka can be seen monitoring the habitat, demonstrating her natural instincts to watch out for any potential threats to her cubs. The cubs are already showing natural behaviors of stalking and climbing. Wildlife care specialists observed one of the cubs climbing about four feet up a tree, before Satka brought the cub back to the ground.
The cubs, who do not have names yet, will get their first hands-on veterinary exam this week, which will also reveal the sex of each cub. This is Satka's second set of cubs, and they are being raised in the leopard habitat in Africa Rocks. Although Amur leopards are not a leopard species found in Africa, Satka and male Amur leopard Oskar were moved to this habitat to provide them with a space of their own for breeding.
Photos taken by Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo Global.
"The cubs are climbing up on the rocks, they are getting into the trees, sometimes listening to mom and sometimes not," said Kelly Murphy, senior wildlife care specialist for the San Diego Zoo.
"Their personalities are still developing, and I'm looking forward to see what they become."
According to the zoo, the cubs' birth is particularly significant for their species, as fewer than 100 Amur leopards are believed to exist in their historic range in Russia and China.
The cubs, who do not have names yet, will get their first hands-on veterinary exam this week which will also reveal the sex of each cub.
Amur leopards are the rarest of the big cat species on the planet.
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