The newest arrivals at the Houston Zoo are two 7 month old clouded leopard cubs. The male cub, Tarak was born at the Nashville Zoo.  The female cub Suksn came to Houston from the Point Defiance Zoo in Washington state. Tarak and Suksn didn’t meet each other until they arrived here, but carnivore supervisor Sara Riger says they took to each other almost immediately, and we were very excited to see that they like each other since they are a future breeding pair.

Want to help conserve clouded leopards in the wild?  Attend a unique fund raiser for clouded leopard conservation and Climb for Clouded Leopards on Nov. 7 at Texas Rock Gym. Find out more on our Climbing for Clouded Leopards webpage.

 

Clouded leopards, like all spotted cats are critically endangered.  Found in the dense rain forest of Southeast Asia, clouded leopards spend most of their time up in the canopy. As they are shy, nocturnal, and well-camouflaged, these cats have proven a challenge to study. Camera traps have proven an effective way of documenting the presence of these cats; these motion-activated cameras are set along trails used by prey animals and can sometimes catch images of the cats as well.

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