IT’S A PURRRRRRFECT WAY TO SPEND
LABOUR DAY WEEKEND!
CATCH A RARE SIGHTING OF ALL THREE SPECIES OF CUBS
BEGINNING SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2017
TORONTO, ON, Thursday, August 31, 2017: This week, the Toronto Zoo’s cubs have started to explore their outdoor habitats and visitors can now catch a rare sighting of all three species! IMPORTANT: All of our cubs are still young and the weather conditions can vary. The cubs will be given access to their outdoor habitats each morning for a few hours and as they get more comfortable those hours will be extended. It is important to note that their schedules are subject to change without notice and there may be times when the cubs are brought inside to enable our Veterinary and Wildlife Care teams to continue to closely monitor their progress. Accordingly, Zoo staff cannot guarantee a cub sighting.
CLOUDED LEOPARD CUBS VIEWING AREA
11:30 AM to 12:30 PM AND 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM DAILY*
Photo Credit: Toronto Zoo
This outdoor area includes climbing logs that are easily adjustable for these characteristically arboreal cats. Right now the climbing logs are positioned for an appropriate cub level, or toddler level, and as they grow and mature the logs can be repositioned at a higher level.
This is the first time in the Zoo’s history that clouded leopard cubs have been born here. The female cubs were born on Saturday, May 13, 2017 to mom “Pavarti” and dad “Mingma.” Pavarti was born on April 30, 2013 and Dad was born on February 2, 2013, both at the Nashville Zoo. Pavarti is a first time mom and while she showed early signs of having maternal instincts, she started spending less time with her cubs and could not be observed nursing or mothering them. A decision was made on the morning of Monday, May 15, 2017 to move the cubs to the intensive care unit (ICU) in the new state-of-the-art Wildlife Health Centre to provide them with the neonatal care they required and give them the best chance at survival. Both cubs are healthy and continue to grow and explore their new environment.
The Toronto Zoo is participating in a clouded leopard conservation breeding program through the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program. The clouded leopard has been listed since 2008 as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
*weather permitting, beginning Saturday September 2nd
CHEETAH CUBS VIEWING AREA
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM DAILY*
Photo Credit: Toronto Zoo
The cheetah cubs were born on April 30, 2017, between 6:53am and 9:13am, five cheetah cubs were born in the Zoo’s off-exhibit cheetah breeding area to mom “Laini” and dad “Patonga”. The arrival of these cubs brings the number of cheetahs born at the Toronto Zoo to 53. Our last cheetah cubs were born in September 2009, and in the intervening years we have been collecting data on cheetah reproduction for this species.
In addition to conservation research, the Toronto Zoo and Toronto Zoo cheetah keepers support cheetahs in the wild through partnerships with the Cheetah Conservation Fund and other cheetah conservation organizations. Cheetahs in the wild are declining rapidly, with estimates putting the world population at somewhere between 6,000 and 9,000 individuals.
The Toronto Zoo is participating in a cheetah conservation breeding program through the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program. The cheetah has been listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
*weather permitting, beginning Saturday September 2nd
SNOW LEOPARD CUBS VIEWING AREA
10:00 AM to 1:00 PM DAILY*
Photo Credit: Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is participating in a snow leopard conservation breeding program through the Species Survival Plan program and very active in supporting conservation efforts in the wild through the Toronto Zoo Endangered Species Reserve Fund. The snow leopard is classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
*weather permitting, beginning Saturday September 2nd
Katie Gray, Supervisor of Public Relations and Events
[email protected] or #416-392-5941