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MONTHLY NEWS January 1997 Leopard Cat Kittens Born at Ueno Zoo |
Four kittens were born in early August to a leopard cat, a wildcat threatened with extinction, at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The offspring were placed on public display in mid-October, and they have been enormously popular with visitors.
They are the first mammalian offspring born under the zoo's program to promote breeding among endangered species. The one male kitten and three females have gotten thoroughly used to their new surroundings, playing with one another as well as with balls and ropes. |
The kittens' mother came to Tokyo from a zoo in Singapore in August 1995, while their father had been at the Ueno Zoo since 1989. The leopard cat, which grows to about the size of a domesticated cat, is a close relative of other wildcats threatened with extinction.
Its name comes from the leopard-like yellowish coat and dark spots; it is found in forests from Siberia and China to Southeast Asia. The zoo began its breeding project in 1989. Sixteen species, including the western lowland gorilla and Sumatra tiger, are currently under the zoo's special care.
Photos: The kittens at one month (top) and the leopard cat family in December (above). (Ueno Zoological Gardens) 
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