Although the clouded leopard is extinct in its native Singapore, Taiwan and Hainan Island, the rare jungle cat species is doing just fine in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden has announced the birth of a female clouded leopard. She’s the first offspring of the zoo’s 2-year-old clouded leopard, Rukai, and her mate, J.D., officials say.
“The kitten appears very strong and healthy, and we are thrilled by the progress she’s making,” says Tyler Boyd, the zoo’s curator of carnivores. “For myself and entire team, the opportunity to care for this offspring, who is incredibly valuable to the conservation of this critically vulnerable species, is a career highlight.”
Is a species that no longer lives in the wild just as good as extinct?