It’s a Boy! Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Announces Naming Opportunity for Amur Leopard Cub

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo today revealed that the Amur leopard cub born on July 1 is a male and announced a public naming opportunity! The birth was the first of the species at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in its 144-year history and also the first Amur leopard born among Ohio zoos. One of the world’s rarest and most critically endangered species, fewer than 200 Amur leopards likely remain in the wild.

Beginning today, the public is invited to help name the cub, with donations supporting wildlife conservation efforts for this critically endangered species. Three name options are available for voting that are regionally traditional to where the species live:

To vote, guests can make a donation at FutureForWildlife.org/LeopardNaming. Donations made during this campaign will support conservation initiatives in the species’ native habitat in the southwestern Primorye region of Russia, including interventions that benefit both Amur tigers and Amur leopards. Voting will close on Monday, September 28 at midnight.

The cub was born just after midnight on July 1 to five-year-old mom, Marta, and four-year-old father, Sylas, at the Zoo’s Asian Highlands destination. Marta and her cub have been closely bonding behind-the-scenes and are being monitored by the Zoo’s Animal Care team. He has grown from one pound at birth to over eight pounds today and is active, mobile and expected to be visible to the public in a few weeks. Both Marta and Sylas are first-time parents and, as leopards are generally solitary animals, Sylas can still be seen on public view at Asian Highlands during this time.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will continue to share updates about mom and cub with the community on social media on Facebook and Instagram.

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