Meet Marta, Santa Barbara Zoo’s newest Amur leopard cub
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara Zoo is welcoming another addition to its big cat family.
On August 6, an Amur leopard named Ajax gave birth to Marta.
The historic pregnancy was announced back in July.
It's the first cub for Ajax and her mating partner, Kasha, the zoo's male leopard who arrived in 2020. Kasha has previously sired four other cubs.
The cats are Amur leopards, which are an endangered species.
Amur leopards are a critically endangered species, the Santa Barbara Zoo said. They are the most endangered of all big cats with less than 100 remaining in the wild.
They’re native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China.
Marta’s birth is part of the Amur leopard Species Survival Plan.
Zookeepers said it’s a program to maintain the genetic diversity of threatened and endangered species in human care.
