Two African leopard cubs born recently in the central state of Guanajuato are giving the at-risk species a boost — and visitors a rare look at one of the world’s most elusive big cats.
The male and female cubs were born Feb. 12 in a breeding program for endangered species at the Irapuato Zoo, which houses about 500 animals from 120 species, zoo veterinarian Gabriela Moreno said.
The cubs’ 15-year-old mother produces little milk at her age, so staff are hand-rearing the pair with a specialized formula. (Most sources put leopards’ lifespan at 10-15 years in the wild and into the low 20s in captivity — ages when reproductive performance and milk production tend to decline.)
Both yet-to-be-named cubs are doing well and are at “optimal health for their age,” Moreno said. No sizes were given, but leopard cubs typically weigh under 2 pounds at birth.
Moreno said the cubs “will be in the maternity area from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. so that [visitors] can observe them. There will be no interaction with them, since they are still very small, but you will be able to observe them.”
Adult African leopards often weigh up to around 90 kilograms (200 pounds), measure up to 1.9 meters (6-foot-3) in body length and reach roughly 70 centimeters (28 inches) in height.
In their native range of sub-Saharan Africa, they occupy an unusually wide variety of habitats — woodlands, grassland savannas, forests, semi-deserts and even mountainous regions — a flexibility that gets them listed among the world’s most adaptable big cats.
Their species, Panthera pardus, is listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, meaning scientists estimate more than a 30% drop in the global leopard population over roughly three generations, with more expected declines. This is due to habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching.
Overall numbers are hard to find, with older estimates of hundreds of thousands of leopards in the wild now considered unreliable. In captivity, one survey cited by the San Diego Zoo showed only 48 leopards suitable for breeding in North American zoos as of 2012 — with the hope of getting it up to 100.
Along with an animal sanctuary in Oaxaca, the Irapuato Zoo has recorded several big-cat births in recent years, including two African leopards (Kibó in 2024 and Kito in 2025), a rare black-coated leopard and a Mexican jaguar.
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It has also bred zebras, a llama calf and a Mexican monkey under the endangered‑species breeding program for which it is known.
The mid-sized regional zoo — commonly called “ZooIra” as a contraction of Zoológico de Irapuato — later exchanges the animals with other facilities to prevent inbreeding and to support conservation-focused collections.
Other recent births of note include four Mexican wolf pups at a wildlife conservation center in Mexico City and the world’s smallest turtle at the Guadalajara Zoo.
With reports from La Jornada, El Sol de Irapuato, Local10.com and Tribuna de México
