Rare baby amur leopards make first public Minnesota Zoo appearance

By Erika Wolf Thu., Sep. 20 2012 at 5:45 AM

Categories: Animals

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Zoo.

Baby amur leopard cubs made their public debut at the Minnesota Zoo yesterday.

The baby amur leopards that were web-cam stars at the beginning of the summer made their first public appearance at the Minnesota Zoo yesterday.

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Rare baby leopards born at the Minnesota Zoo make web cam debut

Born May 29, the cubs -- one male and one female -- have spent the last few months nursing, bonding with their mother Polina, and building up their strength, according to a statement by the zoo. Yesterday, they were put on display in the Russia's Grizzly Coast exhibit.

Native to eastern Asia, only 300 amur leopards live in captivity world wide, 90 of these in the United States. Fewer than 40 live in the wild. The leopards are considered critically endangered.

Because the leopards are so rare, the zoo didn't want to take any chances and that's why it's taken so long for the cubs to make their public debut.

"We want to make sure the mother-cub bond is strong before we interfere," Tony Fischer, animal collection manager at the zoo, told us back in June.