Rare clouded leopard is expecting litter, says Point Defiance Zoo

Poop held the answer.

Keepers at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium suspected a 3-year-old clouded leopard was pregnant, so they slipped food dye into Sang Dao’s meat so they could distinguish her poop from her mate’s excrement.

They spent weeks carefully monitoring the cat’s scat and sent it to a laboratory for hormonal testing. Results showed Sang Dao had ovulated, which doesn’t happen until the cats copulate, so keepers schemed to get an ultrasound.

The leopard was trained for two months to stand up against a mesh barrier so keepers could apply gel to her abdomen for an ultrasound.

Sang Dao was lured into the stance by whipped cream placed high on the mesh so the cat had to stand up to lick it.

“It takes a combination of science, art and extensive knowledge of animal behavior to determine a pregnancy in a field such as a clouded leopard or tiger,” said Karen Goodrowe Beck, the zoo’s general curator.

The ultrasound confirmed what keepers suspected: Sang Dao is pregnant.

She is expected to give birth to at least three cubs by the end of March.

The gestation period for clouded leopards is only 88 to 90 days. Pregnant cats don’t start to show until 60 days.

Goodrowe Beck said it’s important to know about a clouded leopard pregnancy as soon as possible so keepers can closely monitor the mother-to-be’s diet (possibly adding nutritional supplements) and set up camera equipment to monitor her overnight.

It’s not known when Sang Dao and her mate Tien conceived, because the cats are shy.

The couple was paired in September 2013 when Sang Dao arrived from Tanganyika Wildlife Park near Wichita, Kansas. Tien was born in Tacoma.

There are only 113 endangered clouded leopards in North American zoos. Nine live at Point Defiance Zoo.

The last litter of clouded leopards at Point Defiance Zoo was born May 12, 2015. Mother Chai Li gave birth to quadruplets. Two males were sent in October to live at Tanganyika Wildlife Park. Another male cub, Banyan, and a female, Orchid, stayed at the Tacoma zoo.

The zoo has long been active in clouded leopard conservation, helping to breed and rear the cats through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan in Thailand.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Rare clouded leopard is expecting litter, says Point Defiance Zoo."