Zoo Miami's Clouded Leopard Cubs Get Physical Exams
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Zoo Miami just might cure a case of the Monday blues with photos of their 10-week-old clouded leopard cubs, who are growing strong, and doing well, during their physical exams.
Zoo Miami's Ron Magill released the photos of the two female kittens, born March 9th, noting that they were not too pleased during the vaccines and exam but everything turned out well.
The cubs are still being held off exhibit with their mother while their exhibit goes through some modifications.
GALLERY: CLOUDED LEOPARD CUBS RECEIVE PHYSICAL EXAM
The mother of the cubs, named "Serai," was born on May of 2011 at the Smithsonian's Conservation and Research Center in Virginia and the father, named "Rajasi," was born in March of 2011 at the Nashville Zoo in Tennessee.
This is the second successful litter for both parents.
GALLERY: CLOUDED LEOPARD KITTENS BORN AT ZOO MIAMI
Zoo staff was recently able to separate the mother from her cubs for the first time to do a neonatal exam in order to evaluate the condition of the kittens and determine their sexes.
Both offspring are doing well and the mother continues to be attentive and nurse them on a regular basis. The mother and kittens will remain off exhibit for the next several weeks until they are strong enough to face the public.
Clouded Leopards are a very secretive cat found in forests within Southern China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Adults usually weigh between 30 and 50 pounds and they have a very long tail with relatively short legs and large paws to facilitate their frequent arboreal lifestyle. Their diet includes a variety of birds and mammals including monkeys, deer, and porcupines. Clouded leopards have the longest canine teeth relative to their size of any wild cat. They are highly endangered over most of their range due to hunting for their attractive pelts which have ceremonial value in a variety of cultures.
