The Saint Louis Zoo in the United States has announced that two Amur leopard cubs were born on their premises. While the two female cubs were born on April 21, the zoo authorities in the state of Missouri revealed their birth only later this week, on Thursday.
The cubs were named Anya and Irena, which mean ‘grace’ and ‘peace’, by the zoo’s Carnivore Care Team. The cubs were born to four-year-old Dot, who was sired by another four-year-old Amur leopard, named Samson. This is their first litter together.
While sharing footage of the newborn cubs on their official Twitter handle, the zoo authorities wrote, “We are delighted to announce two critically endangered Amur leopard cubs were born at the Zoo! Dorothy gave birth to Anya and Irina on Thursday, April 21. Their births give hope to this critically endangered species.”
We are delighted to announce two critically endangered Amur leopard cubs were born at the Zoo! Dorothy gave birth to Anya (AH-nah) and Irina (eye-REE-nah) on Thursday, April 21. Their births give hope to this critically endangered species: https://t.co/7fx9lPinsJ #StlZoo pic.twitter.com/O3ZG1k5rFC
— Saint Louis Zoo (@stlzoo) May 19, 2022
Samson is the father of the new Amur leopard cubs at the Zoo. He moved to the Zoo in 2021 upon a breeding recommendation by @Zoos_Aquariums. Both Samson and mother Dot are four years old, and this is their first litter together! #StlZoo #AnimalsAlways #SavingSpecies pic.twitter.com/jTSwUiuX2l
— Saint Louis Zoo (@stlzoo) May 19, 2022
Commenting on the video, a Twitter user wrote, “Truly beautiful to see such love ❤️ ”. Another Twitter user remarked, “Precious, incredibly beautiful. Thank you for sharing”.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, there are only 84 Amur leopards in the wld, which makes them the most endangered subspecies of the big cat family. Currently, there are more Amur leopards alive under human care than in the wild.
The critically endangered species are native to southeastern Russia and northeastern China. Without sustained conservation efforts by zoos, the Amur leopards may go extinct in the near future.
