Pittsburgh zoo welcomes new clouded leopard cubs

Meet the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s newest clouded leopard cubs.

Parents Saya and Pi welcomed their second litter of cubs on Nov. 27. Saya gave birth to two other cubs in March, but one of those cubs died shortly after birth.

“The two cubs are healthy and doing well,” said Ginger Sturgeon, the zoo’s director of animal care. “They feed every four hours and are gaining weight. Their eyes are slowly starting to open and they are starting to become a little more curious of their surroundings. They haven’t fully developed their coordination yet so they try to pull themselves up to crawl but they can’t quite get the motion down yet.”

Keepers thought Saya was getting close to delivering the cubs, both boys, when she began behaving differently and going in and out of the nesting box.

They monitored the nesting area with a remote camera, and sure enough, Saya gave birth. She cleaned the cubs, placed them in hay and straw to keep them warm, and attempted several times to get them to nurse. When they didn’t, Saya left the nesting box and didn’t come back. The cubs were then removed for their own safety, zoo officials said.

“We are disappointed. It’s definitely not the outcome we had been hoping for,” said Karen Vacco, the zoo’s assistant curator of mammals. “Saya showed maternal instincts when she cleaned her cubs and positioned them to nurse several times, but after the cubs failed to latch on, Saya left them.”

The new, unnamed cubs will remain at the Animal Care Center for several more weeks before they move to their home in The Islands area of the zoo.