Here Kitty Kitty!
By: CNN
Updated: March 9, 2012
Aww, look at those cute faces! (Click the box to see video).
These are the newest residents of Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Washington state.
An endangered clouded leopard gave birth to them Tuesday morning.
The cubs, a boy and girl, only weigh about a half-pound each.
"The cubs are eating well and sleeping soundly," said staff biologist Andy Goldfarb who has cared for exotic cats for over 25 years and was present at the cubs' birth. "There is nothing more adorable than clouded leopard cubs," he added.
Zoo staff will hand-raise the cubs for the cubs' safety.
In a few weeks, the cubs will move into the zoo's cub den, where visitors will be able to see them up close and watch staff feed and care for them.
"We designed the cub den so our visitors can bond with these cubs when they are tiny and watch them grow," said general curator Karen Goodrowe Beck.
Point Defiance Zoo is one of only three zoos in the country that is breeding endangered clouded leopard cubs, along with Nashville Zoo and Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo. This is the second litter of cubs for Chai Li (pronounced Chai-lye) and her mate Nah Fun (pronounced Nah-foon). The clouded leopards gave birth to their first litter, Taji and Sumalee, last June.
Clouded leopards live mostly in the forest of Southeast Asia. But massive clear-cutting to make way for the expansion of oil palm plantations has threatened their populations. Exactly how many clouded leopards exists is unknown because the cats are so difficult to study.
With clouded leopards vulnerable to extinction in the wild, zoo staff emphasized the importance of the new pair of cubs to the species as a whole.
"These cats are very rare in zoos and in the wild," said Goodrowe Beck. "We hope our visitors will fall in love with these cubs and get inspired to help save clouded leopards in the wild."
The public will get to weigh in on what to name them.
These are the newest residents of Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Washington state.
An endangered clouded leopard gave birth to them Tuesday morning.
The cubs, a boy and girl, only weigh about a half-pound each.
"The cubs are eating well and sleeping soundly," said staff biologist Andy Goldfarb who has cared for exotic cats for over 25 years and was present at the cubs' birth. "There is nothing more adorable than clouded leopard cubs," he added.
Zoo staff will hand-raise the cubs for the cubs' safety.
In a few weeks, the cubs will move into the zoo's cub den, where visitors will be able to see them up close and watch staff feed and care for them.
"We designed the cub den so our visitors can bond with these cubs when they are tiny and watch them grow," said general curator Karen Goodrowe Beck.
Point Defiance Zoo is one of only three zoos in the country that is breeding endangered clouded leopard cubs, along with Nashville Zoo and Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo. This is the second litter of cubs for Chai Li (pronounced Chai-lye) and her mate Nah Fun (pronounced Nah-foon). The clouded leopards gave birth to their first litter, Taji and Sumalee, last June.
Clouded leopards live mostly in the forest of Southeast Asia. But massive clear-cutting to make way for the expansion of oil palm plantations has threatened their populations. Exactly how many clouded leopards exists is unknown because the cats are so difficult to study.
With clouded leopards vulnerable to extinction in the wild, zoo staff emphasized the importance of the new pair of cubs to the species as a whole.
"These cats are very rare in zoos and in the wild," said Goodrowe Beck. "We hope our visitors will fall in love with these cubs and get inspired to help save clouded leopards in the wild."
The public will get to weigh in on what to name them.
