Clouded leopards prepare for debut at Houston Zoo

Twelve-week-old clouded leopard cubs Koshi and Senja took their first romp in the grass Friday during their final days behind-the-scenes at the Houston Zoo. As they grow, their mischievous personalities are coming out. Koshi thinks it’s fun to practice his aerial skills by leaping onto the caregivers while Senja prefers climbing and has perfected the art of escaping over the baby gate barrier. The pair, born June 6, will make their public debut in mid-September. less Twelve-week-old clouded leopard cubs Koshi and Senja took their first romp in the grass Friday during their final days behind-the-scenes at the Houston Zoo. As they grow, their mischievous personalities are ... more Photo: Stephanie Adams, Houston Zoo/Stephanie Adams Photo: Stephanie Adams, Houston Zoo/Stephanie Adams Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Clouded leopards prepare for debut at Houston Zoo 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Houston Zoo's adorably cute clouded leopard cubs are being prepared for their big debut Thursday by spending a few hours each morning in their new enclosure.

The two bundles of furry joy were born at the zoo June 6 and have already attracted world wide attention because of their heart melting looks and mischievous nature. It's hoped their high profile appearance will help bring in valuable conservation funds which can be used to help save clouded leopards in the wild.

Zoo officials report that the pair, named Koshi and Senja, have already climbed all the way to the top of the small cat enclosure and are freely leaping from tree to tree.

"This morning they climbed really high, they're totally fearless," said carnivore curator, Beth Schaefer. "They're very, very good climbers. They're climbing up the rock work with almost no problem at all, if there was no top on that they would almost certainly get out."

The enclosures the two will spend time in vary from around 10 feet by 15 feet and 25 feet by 15 feet. They are around 30 feet tall.

That height is no match for the clouded leopards though. The expert climbers can even rotate their back feet all the way round. That means they can climb up a tree and simply twist round and climb back down head first.

Houston zoo say the arrival of Koshi and Senja was a breakthrough in their clouded leopard program. The cubs are the first born in the Bayou City and the first off spring for two-year-old parents Suksn and Tarak who have been residents since 2012.

Their unbearable cuteness is likely to attract new and returning visitors to the zoo which sends funds to conservation projects overseas each year.

"It's hugely important that people are excited and inspired by the animals they see ... it's pretty hard to turn down the appeal of baby leopards," said Shelly Grow, director of conservation programs at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. "I think capitalizing on the times of something new is a wonderful celebration."

According to the AZA, the 225 accredited zoos in the U.S. send over $160 million each year to field conservation projects which have a direct impact on animals in the wild.

For some though, that's does not justify keeping animals in captivity.

"Zoos put millions of dollars into the building of these enclosures, the same amount of money could fund conservation projects for years," said Adam Roberts, chief executive officer at Born Free U.S.A. which monitors zoo activities through their Zoo Check program.

"The scale is all wrong," Roberts said, "In general the overwhelming number of animals are never having a conservation benefit to animals in the wild."

Born Free also argue that there is no evidence that visiting animals at zoos leads to a desire to help animals in the wild.

Houston zoo say they will take the opportunity to talk with visitors about what they can do to help wild clouded leopards who's habitat is south east Asia is quickly being destroyed.

Rainforest is mostly being cut down to make way for palm oil plantations, an oil that is used is practically every kind of packaged food in America, from cookies to shampoo and soap.

The zoo points to two apps which people can use to find products to buy which do not use palm oil from new plantations which are encroaching on leopard habitat.

"It's really great to use the cuteness as a platform to reach our guests," said Beth Schaefer at the zoo.

Visitors are directed to one app from El Paso Zoo and one from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.