Clouded leopards at Lowry Park Zoo now 3-months-old
TAMPA, Fla. - The pair of clouded leopard cubs at Lowry Park Zoo are now three-months-old and are more adorable every day.
The zoo said the female cubs, "Aiya" and "Shigu," have new roles now as animal ambassadors-in-training.
The cubs, born Feb. 29 at the zoo, will be a part of outreach and educational programs to teach audiences everywhere about the needs and perils of the rare and vulnerable species.
The trainers will use the gardens and pathways at the zoo to take strolls and socialize the cubs.
Lowry Park Zoo was granted permission for the leopard sisters to stay together and live there permanently as ambassador animals.
The clouded leopards, the smallest of the "big cats," will grow to be 20-60 pounds and measure about five feet long. They are native to Southeast Asia, but their natural habitat has one of the fastest deforestation rates in the world and the species is also threatened because of hunting and poaching.