Well, Bless Your Heart...
At SCBI, the Smithsonian's wildlife conservation campus in Front Royal, Va., the rather complex study of hormones, behavior and habitat enables scientists to better understand the health and reproductive system of endangered animals.
Later this year, a cluster of turret-roofed huts at SCBI are being converted into a conservation facility for red pandas and clouded leopards, both endangered. SCBI took on clouded leopards because zoos were having trouble pairing and mating the animals. It didn’t help that males often killed their mates. Experts say the cat suffers from a fair amount of stress, related to both breeding and habitat.
“They are the most challenging cat there is,” says JoGayle Howard, a scientist and head of the clouded leopard conservation and research program. Even when SCBI was able to create some pairs that successfully reproduced 71 cubs over a 12-year period, about half were killed by the mother. But ongoing efforts, including hand-raising the cubs and pairing males at a young age, have improveD cub survival.
In recent years, experts have determined that the clouded leopard wants a habitat with height, so the interior of the new facility will be high, and the outdoor area will have tall climbing towers.
