Memphis Zoo welcomes new Amur leopard

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A new big cat brings a dynamic look and new conservation efforts to Memphis!

The Memphis zoo welcomed a new female Amur Leopard named Kira on Thursday, May 19.

Kira comes to Memphis from across the Atlantic Ocean at the Twycross Zoo in England.

Born in 2016, Kira is a part of an international breeding program and partnership between the Memphis Zoo and the Twycross Zoo.

“Kira’s arrival is a double win for the Memphis community. Not only are Amur leopards a gorgeous and dynamic species to see at the zoo, but this is also a real-life conservation story. With this species on the brink of extinction in the wild, zoos across the globe are collaboratively managing a breeding program that will ensure this species endures with the potential to reintroduce back to the wild,” said Memphis Zoo Curator Dan Dembiec.

The Amur leopard is currently listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with less that 100 living in the wild. The last wild populations of these big cats are found in China and Russia.

See Kira, as well as other new arrivals including Arizona the Jaguar and Lily the Giraffe, at the Memphis Zoo.

Copyright 2022 WMC. All rights reserved.

Click here to sign up for our newsletter!

Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.