Amur Leopard Cub Ready to Shine

at Brookfield Zoo

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: July 1, 2020 5:47 pm

Photo Credit: Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

Brookfield Zoo’s Amur leopard cub is ready for his first day in the limelight as the zoo prepares to reopen for members on July 1st and general admission on July 8th.

The 4 month old cub, named Sasha was born on March 3rd and has been behind the scenes bonding with his mother, Lisa.

Photo Credit: Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

He will make his debut at the zoo on July 3rd. Initially he will be given access to his outdoor enclosure for a few hours per day with mum. This will increase over time as he gains more confidence in the outdoors. When the cub isn’t on display you can see Samson, another of Lisa’s cubs born in 2018.

Sasha’s name was chosen by the Society’s Women’s Board who won the right during the Chicago Zoological Society’s (CZS) Virtu-Whirl fundraiser.

Photo Credit: Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

This cub is the third litter for successful parents, Lisa and 9 year old father, Kasha. Their other two litters were born in 2016 and 2018.

Lisa and Kasha are members of the Species Survival Plan (SSP). An SSP is a cooperative effort between accredited zoos across North America that aims to create a self sustaining population with good genetic diversity to act as an insurance population against extinction.

Photo Credit: Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

This is especially important for the Amur leopard which is one of the most endangered species on Earth with as few as 65 believed to remain in the Russian Far East where they are found. A few more individuals may remain in a small population in northeast China.

Their population is under severe threat from habitat loss, hunting and the expansion of human settlements.

They are the most northernmost subspecies of leopard in the world and spend their day resting in trees and other dense vegetation.

Learn more about Amur leopards – Amur Leopard | The Animal Facts

Learn more about Brookfield Zoo – Brookfield Zoo Website