The entire rainforest section is not very impressive enclosure wise. It is also home to leopard cats, sugar gliders, armadillos, sloths, aracaris, red footed tortoises, porcupines, bushbabies, kinkajous, and golden handed tamarins.
Are you sure this is a leopard cat and not some sort of domestic cat/domestic cat hybrid? I thought there weren't any leopard cats in US zoos, and the shape of this individual's face doesn't seem quite right for a wild felid.
@Neil chace Yes. They've had it for two years now, since opening this section (about 6 months after my visit). The face does look a little off, but if it isn't pure, the place isn't aware of it.
@TinoPup Interesting, thanks. Shorter snouts tend to be a distinguishing feature of domestication syndrome, making this look a lot more like some sort of hybrid and/or domestic.
If this is indeed a Leopard Cat, then that's extraordinary. I've only seen 3 ever: when I was a very young kid at the Alberta Game Farm (Canada) in the 1970s, at Mountain View Conservation Center (Canada) in 2008, and at Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) in 2019. That's a trio of pretty obscure zoos, but that's also the case for Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den!
@Neil chace I think the small Asian ones used for breeding tend to look like this, especially vs the more fishing cat-looking ones.
@snowleopard They're not that rare, just a species zoos don't usually bother with. There's plenty to be found with private holders/breeders and occasionally traveling zoos, though less than a few decades ago when there were more people breeding F1 bengals. Same with jungle cats, which were much more common in the 80s/90s; by 1995 the chausie was a recognized breed, so people mostly stopped doing F1s, and now there's next to no jungle cats in the USA. Caracats are the new "it" hybrid, and you'll notice there's been an uptick of zoos outside the AZA holding caracals the last couple of years.
