Rare Sri Lankan Leopard Cubs Born at Zoo Brno
Posted by Chris Eastland on
Two Endangered Sri Lankan Leopard cubs at the Czech Republic’s Zoo Brno had their first veterinary checkup last week.
Born in November 2017 to female Nayana, the cubs – one male and one female – were proclaimed healthy and strong by the veterinary team. Each weighs a little over four-and-a-half pounds.
Photo Credit: Zoo Brno
The cubs have spent their first weeks of life tucked into the den with Nayana, where they nurse, sleep, and play with each other. They are the first Ski Lankan Leopard cubs to be born at the zoo in 17 years.
Sri Lankan Leopards are one of nine Leopard subspecies recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (Some taxonomists recognize only eight Leopard subspecies.) Even though Leopards are considered highly adaptable and live in mountains, forests, deserts, and grasslands in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, all Leopard subspecies are in decline. Sri Lankan Leopards are listed as Endangered by the IUCN, with the primary threats coming from loss of habitat, loss of prey species, and poaching for body parts.