Amur Leopard, Zeya is leaving for Hogle Zoo in Utah, USA tomorrow
Good luck and farewell to Zeya our gorgeous Amur Leopard...
WHF ASSISTING IN GLOBAL CONSERVATION PROJECT WITH WORLD’S MOST ENDANGERED BIG CAT - AS ZEYA HEADS TO UTAH'S HOGLE ZOO, USA
Wildlife Heritage Foundation assisting in the global breeding program for the World’s most endangered big cat - the Amur Leopard, estimated less than 40-50 individuals left in the World in the wild...
WHF’s first born female Amur Leopard, Zeya.. set to travel to Utah's Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, USA … as part of the breeding program. She leaves tomorrow, Tuesday - 6th October.
Zeya and her brother Manchurian were born in June 2012 to Xizi who came from Helsinki zoo in Finland in 2007 and Hogar who was from the Czech Republic and has been at WHF since 2011.. This is Xizi’s second litter of offspring, one of her first litter Anuy has already produced 2 female cubs in Hiroshima in Japan.
At just over 3 years of age, it is the perfect time for Zeya to move on in the hope she will produce cubs within the breeding program.
Headkeeper Clare said, “‘We are all very sad to see Zeya leave WHF, but it is brilliant to be contributing another young female to the breeding program of the World’s most endangered big cat species. She is a fantastic cat with a huge personality and plenty of character.. We are confident she will be a wonderful mum as is her own mother Xizi and it is a testament to the work we endeavour to do in being able to further help to supplement the captive Amur Leopard population”
With only around 40-50 left in the wild and around 100 left in captivity, the Amur leopard is the rarest big cat on our planet. Even at this critical level, there is still hope. In conjunction John Lewis of Wildlife Vets International we are working on a breeding programme that will ultimately lead to reintroducing Amur leopards into the wild.
The Amur leopard is probably the only big cat for which a reintroduction program using zoo stock is considered a necessary conservation action. The reintroduction of the Amur Leopard has now been given the go-ahead and will come into effect as of Spring 2016.