Nashville Zoo welcomes two new babies: A clouded leopard cub and a civet kit

Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

Meet the newest, four-legged bundles of joy at the Nashville Zoo: a clouded leopard cub and a banded palm civet kit.

The zoo recently added the adorable arrivals to its nursery, part of ongoing animal conservation efforts.

The male clouded leopard cub, not yet named, was born July 18 at the Oklahoma City Zoo. The banded civet kit was born Aug. 12 at Nashville Zoo. He too is waiting on a name.

Getting to know Nashville's newest cub

The cub was brought to Music City for hand rearing and mating, where the local zoo serves as a national leader in clouded leopard breeding and care.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan chose the Nashville Zoo to oversee the cub's development and mating pairing.

“We’ve been breeding and raising these cats since 1991 and have learned a lot about this process,” Dr. Heather Schwartz, the zoo’s director of Veterinary Services, said in a release.

“We hand rear our cubs because it allows this normally nervous species to become acclimated to the sights and sounds of human interaction, typical in an exhibit environment."

The cub will remain in the zoo’s Veterinary Center nursery until it is old enough to be moved to a larger habitat on the property, eventually being introduced to a suitable mate.

A clouded leopard cub born July 18 at the Oklahoma City Zoo has made its way to Nashville Zoo, where it will be raised and bred.
A clouded leopard cub born July 18 at the Oklahoma City Zoo has made its way to Nashville Zoo, where it will be raised and bred.

You can watch the cub live in the nursery online at https://www.nashvillezoo.org/veterinary-center.

Clouded leopards are native to tropical lowlands in Southeast Asia — countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh.

The species is considered vulnerable to extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, due to deforestation, poaching and pet trade.

Researches estimate around 10,000 clouded leopards survive in the wild. It is one of the rarest species to track as it is among the most elusive.

Zoo president and CEO Rick Schwartz said clouded leopard males can be aggressive when introduced to females.

"This can cause serious, even lethal injury to the females," Schwartz said. "Hand rearing this species lowers aggression and increases the chance of successful mating."

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums now recommends hand rearing for all cubs of this species.

A cute kit from Asia

A banded civet kit was born at Nashville Zoo Aug. 12. The new animal will be trained as an ambassador for the zoo.
A banded civet kit was born at Nashville Zoo Aug. 12. The new animal will be trained as an ambassador for the zoo.

The banded civet kit was removed from its mother due to inadequate milk production; the newborn will be hand-raised in the nursey and eventually become an ambassador animal, educating the public about the species and its native environment.

Palm civets are small nocturnal mammals native to the rainforests and jungles of Southeast Asia. It's categorized as a threatened species due to habitat loss from deforestation, agriculture, plantations, water damming and hunting.

Nashville Zoo has successfully bred the species since 2015.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Zoo welcomes clouded leopard cub and clouded leopard cub