A LEOPARD who travelled across the country in search of romance has become a mother \u2013 strengthening efforts to conserve the rarest big cats in the world.<\/p>\n
Colchester Zoo\u2019s Amur leopard Lena travelled to Dartmoor Zoo in August last year, after she was chosen as a suitable breeding mate for male Amur leopard Freddo.<\/p>\n
Amur leopards are a critically endangered species and are the rarest big cats in the world, with just an estimated 120 left in the wild.<\/p>\n
After the pair were matched on the Zoological Information Management System, described as a ‘dating site’ for animals, and a successful introduction in April this year, Lena and Freddo became inseparable.<\/p>\n
Dartmoor Zoo is thrilled to announce Lena and Freddo\u2019s first cub was born at the end of September.<\/p>\n
Mother – Lena and her new cub in the den at Dartmoor Zoo (Image: Dartmoor Zoo)<\/p>\n
The zoo said initial observations show Lena seems calm, in good spirits and already showing signs of motherly intuition, while fenceline encounters with Freddo are positive, with the male showing signs of interest, attentiveness and a calm demeanour towards Lena and their cub.<\/p>\n
Dartmoor Zoo animal manager Madeleine Millin said: \u201cIt has been a rewarding journey for Lena to settle and be comfortable with her keepers and new home here at Dartmoor and for her to be happy to be introduced to Freddo, our ever-steady male.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been happily living together, enjoying each other\u2019s company, so much so that successful mating was seen and has subsequently produced a healthy cub.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parents – Lena and Freddo became inseparable after they met in April this year (Image: Dartmoor Zoo)<\/p>\n
Ms Millin said staff have been following the first-time mother and the cub\u2019s progress via cameras in the cubbing den.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is very attentive and protective, reassuringly licking it and going to retrieve it when it wonders off too far,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cub is moving around well, playing with mum and exploring the surroundings of the den.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire keeper team are excited, and I\u2019m very proud and can\u2019t wait to watch the cub develop and thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Zoological Information Management System, this cub is one of only 15 Amur leopards born globally in 2025 \u2013 marking a huge milestone not only for Dartmoor Zoo, but for global conservation efforts of the critically endangered Amur leopard species.<\/p>\n
Zoo staff were able to witness the birth via CCTV footage of the cub and Lena in the cubbing den.<\/p>\n
Less than five weeks later, the cub has begun to explore its surroundings \u2013 with staff giving the tiny cat space to thrive.<\/p>\n
Dartmoor Zoo chief executive David Gibson said: \u201cThe birth of our first Amur Leopard cub here at Dartmoor Zoo is the culmination of several years of planning and hard work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s incredibly rewarding to know that we are making a significant contribution to the survival of the most endangered big cat in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith less than 400 individuals left around the world, between the wild and zoo populations, the arrival of this cub is globally important.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be sometime yet before the cub is visible to our visitors, but they can rest assured that both mum and cub are getting the very best of care and attention in the meantime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mother – Colchester Zoo’s Amur leopard Lena travelled to Dartmoor and has given birth to her first cub (Image: Colchester Zoo)<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n
Zoos are an essential safety net for Amur leopards.<\/p>\n
Each Amur leopard born in an accredited zoo strengthens a carefully managed breeding program, which acts as a genetically diverse reservoir for future reintroductions.<\/p>\n
Although it\u2019s not currently possible to consider re-introductions of the animals into the wild, maintaining a healthy growing population of Amur leopards within the world\u2019s zoos is essential to ensuring the continuing recovery of this enigmatic and highly secretive predator.<\/p>\n
Amur Leopards are a cold adapted species meaning they can survive in the most challenging of conditions.<\/p>\n
Their thick coat allows them to stay active and hunt throughout the worst of the winter in the extreme North Eastern China and South Eastern Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A LEOPARD who travelled across the country in search of romance has become a mother \u2013 strengthening efforts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[104802,104800,45315,35126,104801,90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-251449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-amur-leopard","9":"tag-colchester-zoo","10":"tag-critically-endangered-species","11":"tag-dartmoor","12":"tag-dartmoor-zoo","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom","17":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}