Photo: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden
One of the newest residents at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is an adorable and rare kitten.
The female clouded leopard kitten was born on August 6 to Rukai in the zoo's Cat Forest habitat. The baby is still unnamed, but she's the first offspring of Rukai and her mate JD.
“The kitten appears very strong and healthy, and we are thrilled by the progress she’s making. 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," said Tyler Boyd, OKC Zoo’s curator of carnivores, in a statement.
The kitten is being hand-reared by zoo caretakers "to ensure she thrives." The baby was moved to a climate-controlled incubator to regulate her body temperature and is being bottle fed with a special formula.
Caretakers say the kitten is healthy and growing just as she should.
Clouded leopards are native to Bangladesh and Nepal. They are considered a species vulnerable to extinction because of the pet trade, poaching, and deforestation. Researchers estimate that there are about 10,000 clouded leopards living in the wild.