Leopard subspecies in US

Kifaru Bwana said:
Based on a rather diffuse research with a rather limited sample group. Often quoted, but lacking credible merit. I personally believe it should be discounted and no longer cited as a valid source.
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I think in reality there are at least three subspecies in Africa: one in South and East Africa, one in North Africa, and one probably Extinct in Zanzibar. You see this subspecies pattern in other large cats such as Lions and Cheetahs so it's likely Leopards follow similarly, and there's no doubt in my mind that the Zanzibar cats are/were distinct.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I think in reality there are at least three subspecies in Africa: one in South and East Africa, one in North Africa, and one probably Extinct in Zanzibar. You see this subspecies pattern in other large cats such as Lions and Cheetahs so it's likely Leopards follow similarly, and there's no doubt in my mind that the Zanzibar cats are/were distinct.

~Thylo
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Zanzibar case aside, the argument for separate North African & Southern African leopard subspecies has a major flaw; unlike lions and cheetahs, leopards are, or at least were historically, found throughout much of the Congo Basin, reducing the chance of a significant barrier to gene flow.
 
Swampy said:
Zanzibar case aside, the argument for separate North African & Southern African leopard subspecies has a major flaw; unlike lions and cheetahs, leopards are, or at least were historically, found throughout much of the Congo Basin, reducing the chance of a significant barrier to gene flow.
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This would be a good point. Perhaps they really are only one subspecies, though I really do doubt it.

~Thylo
 
Not an American zoo (but an hour and a bit from the border), Safari Niagara in Stevensville, Ontario, has a male African Leopard named Quinn. They also have a male Amur Leopard. Previously exhibited Snows.

Toronto Zoo had Chinese Leopards.
 
TigerValley98 said:
If Cleveland gets a second Amur leopard, I expect he will never be in with the second for breeding. While Edgar was at Erie, he killed his previous mate.

Side Note: Within a week we will know if the attempt to AI Erie’s Amur leopards worked when Nia has her ultrasound. If this works, it will be the first one.
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Hello any updates on Nia? I have been checking for a status on this but so far nothing. If the AI breeding attempt were successful a birth announcement would be imminent. Sorry to trouble you but yours is the only comment I have seen on this very important topic. Thanks
 
Ann Esther Sprizzo said:
Hello any updates on Nia? I have been checking for a status on this but so far nothing. If the AI breeding attempt were successful a birth announcement would be imminent. Sorry to trouble you but yours is the only comment I have seen on this very important topic. Thanks
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There has been no Nia news, but that does not mean she is not pregnant.

Cleveland’s Edgar (Amur) will be used for AI.
 
PossumRoach said:
A roadside facility in FL claims that their leopards are Indian leopards. They received a breeding pair from a closed facility in 2009 and had three cubs in 2010 all of which remain on the facility. The facility hasn't bred the leopards and other big cats since then.
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What facility is this?
 
TigerValley98 said:
There has been no Nia news, but that does not mean she is not pregnant.

Cleveland’s Edgar (Amur) will be used for AI.
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Thank you so much for the update. Very exciting news about Edgar. Given his past it seemed he would never be able to contribute to the SSP as originally intended. Amur leopards are a favorite of mine and I don’t find nearly enough information about the population in US zoos on websites or the internet so this is a wonderful forum for supplementing my knowledge. Thanks again
 
Ann Esther Sprizzo said:
Thank you so much for the update. Very exciting news about Edgar. Given his past it seemed he would never be able to contribute to the SSP as originally intended. Amur leopards are a favorite of mine and I don’t find nearly enough information about the population in US zoos on websites or the internet so this is a wonderful forum for supplementing my knowledge. Thanks again
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The Edgar news was in the latest breeding plan.
 
Swampy said:
Zanzibar case aside, the argument for separate North African & Southern African leopard subspecies has a major flaw; unlike lions and cheetahs, leopards are, or at least were historically, found throughout much of the Congo Basin, reducing the chance of a significant barrier to gene flow.
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Eh, I can see the logic. I have trouble envisioning a significant transfer of animals through the Congo Basin though unless they already lived there or on the fringes.
 
elefante said:
According to the Feline TAG, the only leopard subspecies mentioned in North America is the Amur leopard. Are other subspecies present in North America? Are all other subspecies being phased out of North America due to the Amur leopard being critically endangered or is this because this subspecies is adapted to colder climates?
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I may be late here, but I happened to see the post… I specifically remember in 1995 or 1996 that a melanistic Indochinese leopard was featured on the front cover of San Diego’s Zoonooz magazine. Their exhibit, at the time, was the former "Cat Canyon", which now is the Africa Rocks and African penguins area. Those feline exhibits were stuck in the 1930s. Literally just fenced-in boxes with cement floors, some climbing structures, and a sleeping chamber. And they kept the leopards in that, along with others for cougars, lynx, jaguars, and possibly timber wolves. But it’s all been redesigned thankfully.

I also distinctly remember San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park having Persian and Northern Chinese leopards, as well as the Amur leopards today, which they seem to have quite a bit of luck with breeding. Their new exhibit in the East Asian/panda area is pretty decent, with overhead walkways for the cats.
 
Somewhat unrelated question but does the AZA moratorium on breeding big cat color morphs also apply to leopards? (And even more unrelated question jaguars for that matter.) It seems a shame to cut black leopards out of breeding programs.
 
turkeyfox said:
Somewhat unrelated question but does the AZA moratorium on breeding big cat color morphs also apply to leopards? (And even more unrelated question jaguars for that matter.) It seems a shame to cut black leopards out of breeding programs.
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Black leopards may not be what most AZA facilities are going out of their way to breed. It’s based on recommendations by the SSP. However, Amur Leopards are also managed as a GSMP(Global Species Management Plan). We’ve seen Amur Leopards imported into the states to be part of the breeding program. The only problem being I don’t how “pure” black Amur Leopards may be given that melanistic leopard are typically found in hotter, tropical areas and already such a rarity too. And that’s on top of the original founding population having had a couple of leopards of unknown subspecies added into the mix.
 
turkeyfox said:
Somewhat unrelated question but does the AZA moratorium on breeding big cat color morphs also apply to leopards? (And even more unrelated question jaguars for that matter.) It seems a shame to cut black leopards out of breeding programs.
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It's not a moratorium on breeding any color morph animals, it's a policy of not intentionally breeding color morph animals together in order to perpetuate the morph. This AZA white paper outlines the logic:

https://bigcatrescue.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AZAbansBreedingWhiteTigersLions2011from2008.pdf

So theoretically there is nothing wrong with including melanistic jaguars in the breeding program - the paper makes clear that color morphs are part of the natural phenotype variation in many species. What is not done is preferentially breeding color morph animals together to maintain a line of color morph animals - since this leads to inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity, which goes against the philosophy of AZA population management.

Black leopards is an interesting question. In the 2010's San Diego acquired a melanistic Amur leopard from the Tanganyika Wildlife Park (who has since gone back to Tanganyika), and a staff member in the below press release stated that - while she wasn't currently recommended for breeding - she may one day breed, but any descendants she has would not be included in reintroduction plans. In 2021 this same leopard did breed at TWP and produced three melanistic cubs. Tanganyika is not AZA but may be part of the SSP/GSMP? Tanganyika's press release also stated there are 2 other known black Amur leopards in the world, but I can't find evidence of them.

Black Beauty
The Most Endangered Big Cat: Amur Leopard Births
 
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