The Clouded Leopard feeding at the Fort Wayne Zoo on July 1, 2025 at one week old. Photo courtesy of the Fort Wayne Zoo.
Fort Wayne Zoo is excited to announce the birth of a male clouded leopard cub born the morning of June 22 to mother Raury, 7 years old, and father Sanji, 5 years old.
Fort Wayne Zoo news release:
Fort Wayne Zoo Welcomes Clouded Leopard Cub
Fort Wayne, Indiana (July 25, 2025) – Fort Wayne Zoo is excited to announce the birth of a male clouded leopard cub born the morning of June 22 to mother Raury, 7 years old, and father Sanji, 5 years old. This is the second successful litter born to Raury and Sanji and the second clouded leopard cub born at the Fort Wayne Zoo. His name will be unveiled at a later date.
“We are overjoyed to welcome the arrival of the male clouded leopard,” said Rick Schuiteman, Zoo Executive Director & CEO. “Raising a clouded leopard cub takes tremendous effort and I am incredibly proud of our Animal Care & Health Teams for all of their hard work and dedication towards caring for this vulnerable species.”
The Zoo plays an active role in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan, a program that seeks to maintain genetic diversity and long-term sustainability of species with significant conservation value. For clouded leopards, hand-rearing is a recommended best practice due to historical patterns of low maternal success in this species.
“Although it is always preferred for a baby to be raised by its mother, we have a dedicated, qualified team to meet the needs of animals born at the Zoo when human intervention is warranted,” states Dr. Kami Alvarado, Director of Animal Health & Conservation. “Ensuring the survival of all species is our top priority, including this clouded leopard cub that is extremely valuable to its species’ population.”
The Clouded Leopard feeding at the Fort Wayne Zoo on July 1, 2025 at three weeks old. Photo courtesy of the Fort Wayne Zoo.
Current hand rearing protocols include daily health exams, frequent bottle feeding, meticulous hygiene upkeep, and close monitoring of weight gain. As the cub grows, protocols will include assisted transition from formula to solids, introducing enrichment items to encourage natural behaviors, and social development.
As we continue to care for the cub behind-the-scenes, we invite the public to follow his journey on the Zoo’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and website at fwzoo.com.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists Clouded Leopards conservation status as “Vulnerable”, which is defined as a species that faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. To learn more, visit https://www.iucnredlist.org/.
To create a better future for this vulnerable species, the Fort Wayne Zoo supports the Clouded Leopard Project, specifically the international partners who are working together to develop a viable self-sustaining breeding program in Thailand. Fewer than 10,000 adult clouded leopards remain in southeast Asia.
About the Fort Wayne Zoo
The Fort Wayne Zoo is northeast Indiana’s largest tourist attraction, hosting more than 650,000 guests annually. The Zoo is home to Red Panda Ridge named #6 in USA Today 10Best Zoo Exhibits for 2024. In 2021, the Zoo was voted Visit Indiana’s “Summer Bucket List Top Attraction” and is consistently named one of the nation’s Top Ten Zoos for Kids by national media outlets.
The Zoo is a conservation leader, investing nearly $275,000 annually in local, regional, and international efforts to protect wildlife and their habitats. The Zoo cares for more than 1,500 animals and participates in 41 cooperative species survival plan programs and 42 taxon advisory groups, which are critical to supporting threatened species.
As a self-supporting facility, the Fort Wayne Zoo receives no tax dollars for daily operations, unlike most accredited zoos where those dollars fund approximately 40% of their annual operating budgets. The Zoo’s mission is made possible thanks to support derived from admissions, memberships, donations, group picnics, special ticketed events, and other visitation-related activities.
