Clouded Leopard Kittens
Chalk one up for the good guys folks! Also, chalk one up for cute babies, because the recent birth of two clouded leopard cubs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is a big win for everyone! Due to the unfortunate hunting and deforestation that has gone on in Southeast Asia, there are currently less than ten thousand specimens of this great species, making them vulnerable for extinction, so any time one is born, the world is guaranteed more time to see these majestic animals in action. Named for its spotted coat, the clouded leopard is a great climber that spends most of its time living in the trees from Indonesia to the Nepali Himalayas; it’s so good at its arboreal lifestyle, that the clouded leopard has been known to hang upside down from tree branches. That’s pretty impressive when you realize that they can grow to over three feet in length, and over fifty pounds in weight!
These particular specimens will have to be hand reared by the professionals at the institute because of some issues the species has shown involving aggression towards one another. However, they have to be careful not to imprint on the cubs (create a maternal or paternal bond) because this would make it difficult for them to integrate with others of their kind as they got older. Once they’re of age, they will be sent to another conservation institute where they can live fun and productive lives amongst their kind. The two babies are a boy and girl; we’re unsure if they’ve been named yet, but we’re hoping they decide on “Donnie and Marie”.
