• Donate Now
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
Big Cat Rescue
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Big Cat Rescue
No Result
View All Result
Home News World

Virginia: Clouded leopard gives birth to two cubs

Carole by BCR
February 21, 2010
in News World
0 0
0
0
SHARES
46
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

By Ben Orcutt – borcutt@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL — Valentine’s Day was a lot more special this year at the Conservation Biology Institute, just south of Front Royal, with the birth of two clouded leopards.

“That was just good luck for us,” Dr. JoGayle Howard, a veterinarian and reproduction specialist with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo, said during a Thursday telephone interview.

Howard said Jao Chu, a clouded leopard from Thailand, gave birth to the cubs as scientists at the former Conservation and Research Center were making presentations during a public program in another area of the facility.

“It was fun,” Howard said. “It happened in the middle of all that.”

Howard has been working with clouded leopards since she joined the National Zoo in 1980. The endangered species is indigenous to the rain forests of Southeast Asia, and this is the third litter of cubs for Jao Chu and her mate, Hannibal, who were imported from Thailand.

These are the first clouded leopards to be born on Valentine’s Day at the Front Royal facility, and Howard conceded that makes them a little more special.

“Oh sure,” she said. “Every time you have a clouded leopard birth, it’s special.”

According to a news release issued by the National Zoo, the cubs weighed just more than a half-pound at birth and will hopefully grow to between 30 and 50 pounds and roughly 5 feet in length.

“I think they’re extremely unique,” Howard said of the species. “Just their anatomy is unique in that they have this long tail. Their tail sometimes is as long as their body, so they can go straight down a tree. They’re acrobats in the forest and they jump from tree to tree. They love little branches to swing on.”

What also has fascinated and baffled scientists, Howard said, is how to successfully breed clouded leopards.

“They’ve always been the most challenging because in most every other species of cats, we can put males and females together and they’ll either breed or not breed,” she said. “They won’t kill each other and so, this has been a really difficult cat to crack the problems and the biggest problem is this male killing females. The majority of clouded leopards in zoos are not together because the male has traumatized or attacked a female or killed a female.

“So we were always trying to figure out what is it going to take to stop this. What is it going to take for females to be calm enough to raise their babies. We’ve had 76 clouded leopards born at the Front Royal facility, and half of those were traumatized by mom. So this is a huge problem and one that we really wanted to tackle over the years.”

However, the process of pairing male and female cubs at a young age is working, and along with hand-rearing them, scientists are more successful with their breeding, Howard said.

“The whole thing is working really well and we’re very, very excited,” Howard added.

Researchers at the National Zoo also are excited about a fundraising effort for a new clouded-leopard facility to be built in Front Royal.

“The facility at CRC has been good, but it’s old and so we’re on a huge campaign right now to build a new clouded leopard facility in Front Royal,” Howard said.

For more information on the fundraising campaign or to view the cubs on a webcam, visit the National Zoo’s Web site at www.nationalzoo.si.edu and follow the links.

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2010/02/clouded-leopard-gives-birth-to-two-cubs.php

————

Learn more about big cats and Big Cat Rescue at http://bigcatrescue.org


Tags: News World
Previous Post

India: Leopard skin seized, five arrested

Next Post

Chris Wins Tampa Bay Video Award

Next Post

Chris Wins Tampa Bay Video Award

Leave a Reply

  • Default Comments (0)
  • Facebook Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Help Feed Big Cats

One of the best ways to help is through general donations that can be used however it is most needed at the time.To make a general donation just click the Donate Now button below.  This is the best way to give as it has the lowest credit card processing fees and is immediate help for the cats.

Give to Big Cat Rescue

If you prefer to donate via Pay Pal, please use this link: Pay Pal

Recent Articles

  • State Laws Exotic Cats August 8, 2022
  • Sweet vacation! Aria tiger at Big Cat Rescue July 29, 2022
  • Wraaah! I iz in the outside! Kekoa rehab bobcat at Big Cat Rescue July 29, 2022

Recent Comments

  • Carole on What is a Tigon?
  • Zygmuś Solorz Żak on What is a Tigon?
  • Lacey on Savannah Cats and Bengal Cats Make Bad Pets
  • James Michael Walter on Ocelot Facts
  • Renee on Pallas Cat Facts

Save Big Cats

Donate to Big Cat Rescue

Sanctuary Cats

  • Jaguars
  • Leopards
  • Lions
  • Tigers
  • Bobcats
  • Canada Lynx
  • Cougars
  • Ocelots
  • Savannah Cats
  • Servals

More from Big Cats

  • Big Cat Rescue is Live 24/7 on Webcams
  • Rescue Missions
  • About Big Cat Rescue
  • Big Cat Rescue News
  • Reviews
  • Our Recent Work
  • Sanctuary FAQs
  • Big Cat TV
State Laws for Big Cat Ownership

State Laws Exotic Cats

August 8, 2022
Sweet vacation! Aria tiger at Big Cat Rescue

Sweet vacation! Aria tiger at Big Cat Rescue

July 29, 2022
Wraaah! I iz in the outside! Kekoa rehab bobcat at Big Cat Rescue

Wraaah! I iz in the outside! Kekoa rehab bobcat at Big Cat Rescue

July 29, 2022
  • Donate Now
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2022 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • 2018 Appeal
  • About BCR
  • About our Cookies
  • Account
  • BCR in the Media
  • Big Cat NFTS
  • Big Cat Rescue Caring for Cats and Ending the Trade
  • Big Cat Rescuers
  • Big Cat Times
  • Blog
  • Board of Directors
  • Browse Submissions
  • Connections
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Credentials
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Donate Crypto
  • Embed Link
  • Followers
  • Following
  • GET THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT CUB PETTING
  • Global Big Cat News
  • Intern Program
  • Join Us
    • Registration
  • Kids
  • Latest from Big Cat Rescue
  • Licensing
  • Login
  • Login
  • Logout
  • Logout
  • Malaya Bobcat
  • Map
  • Map of Big Cat Owners
  • Member Directory
  • Members
  • My Profile
    • Edit Profile
  • Netflix
  • News about Big Cats
  • News Gallery
  • News@BCR
  • Our Live Feeds
  • Password Reset
  • PressRoom
  • Privacy Policy
  • Register
  • Register
  • Register
    • Edit Your Profile
    • Update Billing Card
    • Welcome
    • Your Membership
  • Rescues
  • Search result
  • Series Archive – Default header
  • Shop
  • SnowLeopard
  • Social Stream
  • Staff
  • Submission Confirmed
  • Teachers
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Terms of Use
  • User
  • USFWS
  • Vets
  • Videos archive
  • Get Involved
    • Automatic
    • Sponsorships
    • Volunteer
      • AdvoCats
      • Click to Feed
      • Intern
    • Legacy
    • Roar! Speak Out for Big Cats
    • Ink
  • Finances
  • How We Started
  • Abuse Issues
    • Issues
      • Exhibitions
      • Private Ownership of Big Cats
      • Zoos
      • White Tigers
      • Circus
      • Fur
      • Trophy Hunting
      • Canned Hunting
      • Why Regulations Don’t Work
  • Our Evolution
  • Photos & Facts
  • Videos
  • Our Volunteers
  • Your Privacy
  • Donate
  • Site Map
  • Field Trips

© Copyright 2022 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist