With a new year coming up, let’s check out videos of some of the newest members of endangered cat species on the planet.
Lions
Most of the births happened in zoos, but the above image, shared online by the group Panthera, was taken in wild Senegal and shows a radiocollared lioness that conservationists reportedly feared was dead after her collar stopped working.
Shown with her is one of the three little surprises accompanying her when she reappeared on cams.
More information:
- Lion Recovery Fund news item: First Lion Spotted in (Chad’s) Sena Oura National Park in 20 Years.
- Leo Foundation: “It is estimated that about 20 lions live in Senegal. Lions in Niokolo Koba National Park regularly kill livestock outside the national park, leading to retaliatory killings by local people.” (Of note, the national soccer team’s name is Les Lions de la Teranga. ❤ )
- Di Minin et al.: “A pan-African spatial assessment of human conflicts with lions and elephants.”
Leopards
Next, here are Basha and Mongol, twin Amur leopards born at Colorado’s Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, before they got their names:
More information:
- AZA story: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Names Ten-Week-Old Amur Leopard Cubs.
- Wikipedia: Amur leopard.
- Wang et al.: “…Our results show that, unexpectedly, at least 26 tigers and 42 leopards are present within China, which are confined primarily to a narrow area along the border with Russia. We have further identified that cattle grazing and human disturbances are the key hurdles to the dispersal of the tigers and leopards farther into China where suitable habitat is potentially available…”
Tigers
Speaking of tigers, here is Sumatran tiger Diana nursing her very first cubs:
Look how big that paw is compared to the cub!
Little Puteri and Hutan made their public debut this past October.
More information:
- Zoological Society of London: Tiger conservation success in 2023.
- Panthera: Tigers forever.
- Goodrich: “…Although HTC [human-tiger conflict] has decreased over the past century, it will likely increase if current and proposed conservation initiatives to double tiger populations are successful. Increased HTC could undermine successful conservation initiatives if proactive steps are not taken to reduce HTC…”
Clouded leopards
This video is several years old, but it has a HIGH squee factor!
Please do NOT try that calming maneuver on a house cat. These are wild big cats (or close relatives); Fluffy is built differently.
More information:
- The Nashville Zoo’s signature species.
- PBS: Clouded leopard fact sheet.
- Greenspan et al.: “Taiwanese attitudes toward the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and its potential reintroduction.”
Snow Leopards
Back in 2021, this snow leopard cub, Shen, was not at all sure about his new environment at the Big Cat Sanctuary!
Mom and the zookeepers helped out and this past March a much more mature Shen got his own room as preparation for life at the Banham Zoo, where he was gladly welcomed.
Introducing Shen!
We are absolutely delighted to welcome snow leopard Shen to Banham Zoo. He arrived from the @TheBigCatSanct last week, where he was born in September 2021. Shen is settling in well, and is starting to explore his new home.
We can’t wait for you to meet him! pic.twitter.com/nCCKX8tvDW
— Banham Zoo (@banhamzoo) July 24, 2023
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
More information:
- The Snow Leopard Trust’s zoo partners.
- Snow leopard cubs at Bronx Zoo.
- Bagchi and Mishra: “Living with large carnivores: predation on livestock by the snow leopard.”
Jaguars
It’s necessary to go back to 2021 and watch the growth of little Inka — who, like Shen, got a new home this year.
Inka vs. the ear:
Her caretakers at the Big Cat Sanctuary documented Inka’s growth over the next twenty months weeks:
And now Inka lives at the Chester Zoo.
More information:
- Mongabay: Rare black jaguars caught on camera in Panama.
- Zurich Insurance: How jaguars returned to Brazil’s “ghost forest.”
- Cavalcanti et al.: “Jaguars, livestock, and people in Brazil…”
Some lagniappe:
What do you get a one-year-old clouded leopard cub for its birthday?
T. rex, of course.
Featured image: Panthera/DPN/Everatt.
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Flight To Wonder 