[FEL-L] Zoo works to help clouded leopards flourish

[BigCatSimba at aol.com]

Zoo works to help leopards flourish 1:28 PM 


Wednesday, 03/07/07 



Zoo works to help leopards flourish
Part of effort aimed at helping endangered animals thrive

By TIM GHIANNI

Senior Writer
Two pairs of young clouded leopards have begun the
trek through international red tape that stands between them and the
opportunity to breed here in Nashville and at the National Zoo in
Washington, D.C. 
Nashville Zoo President Rick
Schwartz says the zoos are part of a consortium, here and in Thailand,
whose goal is to help the endangered animals flourish. 
"All four will come here first, but two of them then will go on to the 
National Zoo," according to Schwartz. 
The
consortium's work toward this hoped-for breeding project took a big
step with Monday's publication in the Federal Register of the Nashville
Zoo's application for a permit to import the captive-born animals. 
That
public notice is the first step in the process, according to Timothy
Van Norman, chief of the international permits branch of the division
of management authority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
A 30-day comment period follows that notice. "Then we review the comments we 
get and make the decision," Van Norman says. 
The
process takes about 90 days because after the comment period, Van
Norman and his colleagues in Arlington, Va., examine "what reason you
want to import the animals, what experience you have, if there's going
to be any scientific research, what is that research, copies of any
research protocols you might have. …" 
Compatibility is vital 


Schwartz says he expects the animals to travel
smoothly through the process and arrive in the States when they are
between 8 months and 1 year old. 
"That's the real key, to get them when they are young," he said. "This is a 
very difficult species of cat to breed in captivity. 
"It
is very important to get the pair together when they are young;
otherwise you have problems with sexual incompatibility or the males
can be very aggressive with 
the females. And it's not uncommon for the males to end up actually killing 
the females." 
He
says the cats will first be paired up in Thailand, so they should be
working through those issues by the time they arrive here. 
The newcomers will bring Nashville Zoo's clouded population to six. 
Dao
and JoGayle, also from the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand,
are "behind he scenes" as a part of the Nashville Zoo breeding program. 
Two
other cloudeds, American-born brother and sister pair Ming and Mei, are
on display on the Bamboo Trail. Because they are related, they are not
a part of the breeding program. 
Schwartz says a primary motivator for the imports is to improve the genetic 
pool in the U.S.
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