The first successful Clouded Leopard AI was performed at Nashville Zoo in 1992 by Smithsonian scientist JoGayle Howard and Nashville Zoo President Rick Schwartz. “Collaboration is the key to conservation of Clouded Leopards, along with so many other rare and endangered species we care for and study.”

“This cub, the first Clouded Leopard offspring produced with cryopreserved semen, is a symbol of how zoos and scientists can come together to make positive change for animals and preserving global biodiversity,” said Dr. Since 2000, they have collaborated with Point Defiance Zoo and Thailand’s Zoological Park Organization to form the Clouded Leopard Consortium and develop breeding programs as well as field monitoring projects for Clouded Leopards in Thailand.īecause the captive Clouded Leopard population is not self-sustaining, it necessitates the need for intensive reproductive management techniques to maintaining captive populations not only in the U.S. Nashville Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute have a long history of working together on Clouded Leopard conservation. The cub will stay at Nashville Zoo with plans to eventually introduce him to a potential mate. This process also lowers animal stress for future hands-on care. The team used a new technique depositing a very small volume of semen into the oviduct where the eggs normally rest after ovulation.Īfter birth, the cub was removed for examination and will be hand-raised by keepers to ensure survival and wellbeing. The Smithsonian’s research staff, Adrienne Crosier, Ph.D., Pierre Comizzoli, D.V.M., Ph.D., and Diana Koester, Ph.D, collected semen a week earlier from a male named Hannibal at Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Margarita Woc Colburn, used hormones to induce ovulation in a female named Tula who was born and raised at Nashville Zoo. Robertson and Nashville Zoo Associate Veterinarian, Dr. “It means we can collect and preserve semen from Clouded Leopard populations around the globe and improve pregnancy outcomes from AI procedures in this species.”ĭr. Heather Robertson, Director of Veterinary Services at the Zoo. “This is an enormous accomplishment for both Nashville Zoo and the team at the Smithsonian,” said Dr.

This accomplishment is a first for this species and a giant step for global conservation efforts. The cub was conceived from an artificial insemination (AI) procedure using frozen/thawed semen. Nashville Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute are pleased to announce the birth of a male Clouded Leopard on March 1.

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