NEW YORK—There are only around 200 captive Amur leopards in the world. Now, three of them live at the Staten Island Zoo. The leopards, Valeri, Kolya, and Fitty, were given a new home Friday, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials unveiled a 4,500-square-foot exhibit.
“The outdoor exhibit features a naturalistic environment over three stories high, mirroring a Russian forest in Amur Valley,” Ken Mitchell, executive director of the Staten Island Zoo, stated in a press release. “The leopards have plenty of room to roam, climb, and even swim in a shallow pond.”
The project took 12 years to complete and cost $3.5 million in capital funds allocated by Mayor Bloomberg through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
“This is one of the many investments we made at this zoo to ensure that it has high quality amenities, for both its collections and the public,” said the mayor at the ribbon cutting of the habitat. “The leopard’s exhibit is a terrific facility.”
Amur leopards are also known as the Far Eastern leopards. They are native to the Amur River valley along the border between Russia and China, and are the only leopard subspecies that are adapted to a cold climate. With only 40 Amur leopards still in the wild, these animals have been classified as Critically Endangered since 1996. Amur leopards are threatened by poaching, building of new roads, urban development encroaching on their natural habitat, deforestation, and climate change.
Valeri and Kolya are brothers who were brought to the zoo recently when the habitat was completed. Zoo officials hope to introduce a female leopard for breeding to help continue the existence of the species.
The Staten Island Zoo is a participant in the Species Survival Program, an initiative of the national Association of Zoos and Aquarium to endangered species population. The breeding of these leopards is carefully managed to avoid inbreeding. The zoo now has one of the largest exhibits for Amur leopards.
“This is going to be a focal point of the zoo for quite a while,” said State Island Zoo President William Frew Jr. “Tell your friends, your family to come and enjoy a day at the zoo.”
Yi Yang is a special correspondent in New York.
