Footage has revealed that two of the rarest cats in the world have been born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park, increasing options for the first reintroduction of the Amur leopard to the wild. The charity announced in July that its Amur leopard Arina had given birth. However, with human presence being kept to a minimum, the number of cubs born was unknown. Motion-sensitive cameras have now shown that two cubs have emerged from their den deep within undergrowth, at least one of which may be released into the wild in Russia in future. Douglas Richardson, head of living collections at the park, at Kincraig, near Kingussie, said: ‘We are delighted that Arina has two cubs, with both appearing to be strong and healthy. ‘Our Amur leopard habitat is the only one within the zoo community which has been designed to breed these extremely rare cats with the aim of producing cubs that are eligible for reintroduction to the wild. ‘While this would be incredibly complex, it would also be a world first and a huge step forward in the conservation of this critically endangered cat.’
One of the leopard cubs is caught on camera in its den.