The leopards came to Moscow from Stockholm, from where the animals were sent to the Leopard Restoration Center in the Caucasus of the Sochi National Park, FSBI by car. The 8-year-old male Filou and 9-year-old female Shiva will supplement the breeding stock of the Leopard Recovery Center by participating in the Program for the restoration (reintroduction) of the Central Asian leopard in the Caucasus with the aim of subsequent reintroduction of their offspring into the wild.
Both leopards are from German zoos. Spotted predators moved to Sweden in 2014 and have lived together almost inseparably since then. Their first offspring were also born at the Swedish zoo in 2016, when two male kittens were born. The second time the family got cubs was in 2019.
Such an action became possible thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) and the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN CWC) for the restoration (reintroduction) of the Central Asian leopard in the Western Caucasus.
In exchange for two leopards from Russia, a 4-year-old female Bagheera will go to Nordens Ark Zoo early next year.
To date, two couples have been formed at the Center: Alous and Cherry, as well as Zadig and Andrea. Most of the leopards in the wild are the offspring of Alous and Cherry.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has provided financial support for the transfer of animals.
Blogs
