Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has a rare new arrival that needs a name, and for the first time in the zoo's 144-year history, it's an Amur leopard. The male cub was born shortly after midnight on July 1, becoming the first of his species ever born at the zoo and the first Amur leopard born at any Ohio zoo, according to the zoo. Now the public is being asked to help choose what to call him, with three regionally traditional names on the ballot: Boris, Nikolai, and Igor.
The cub's arrival is a big deal well beyond Cleveland. Amur leopards are among the world's rarest and most critically endangered cats, according to the zoo, as reported by FOX 8 News. The station reports the zoo puts the wild population at fewer than 200 animals, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the species as Critically Endangered, noting the wild population fell below 30 individuals in the 1970s before recovering to between 100 and 130 adults today. Roughly 200 to 300 more Amur leopards live in managed zoo assurance populations worldwide, per the same conservation group's data.
A First-Time Family Behind the Scenes
The cub belongs to Marta, the zoo's 5-year-old mother leopard, and Sylas, the 4-year-old father — both first-time parents, per the station's report. Marta and her cub have been bonding behind the scenes, spending time together away from public view while the zoo's animal care team monitors their progress. Sylas, meanwhile, remains on public view at the Asian Highlands habitat, since Amur leopards are generally solitary animals in the wild and in captivity.
The cub has grown fast. He weighed about 1 pound at birth and has since ballooned to more than 8 pounds, and the zoo describes him as active and mobile. He was born inside the zoo's Asian Highlands habitat, a 1.3-acre, $5.8 million exhibit that opened in June 2018 and features climbing structures, elevated platforms, and cooling caves, according to WKYC, which covered the habitat's construction as a facility built specifically for high-altitude, cold-climate species like leopards and red pandas.
Naming Vote Doubles as Conservation Fundraiser
The naming contest isn't just a cute community poll — it's the zoo's flagship fundraising vehicle for field conservation. The public can vote by making a donation through the zoo's Future for Wildlife campaign at futureforwildlife.org/leopardnaming, with voting open through midnight on September 28. The official announcement also describes conservation initiatives in the leopard's native range in southwestern Primorye, Russia, work that benefits wild Amur tigers, according to Cleveland Metroparks.
The naming vote flows through the zoo's broader Future for Wildlife initiative, a conservation initiative focused on field conservation, according to the Cleveland Zoo Society. The campaign gives the public a way to participate in that conservation effort.
Built for the Cold, Threatened by the Modern World
Amur leopards are uniquely adapted to the cold temperate forests of the Russian Far East. According to the World Wildlife Fund, they can run up to 37 miles per hour, leap more than 19 feet horizontally and 10 feet vertically, and grow winter coats with fur reaching up to 7 centimeters thick — features that set them apart from their African savannah cousins. Despite those adaptations, the wildlife group notes wild populations remain threatened by poaching, prey scarcity, and habitat pressures.
Cleveland's cub was born in 2026. The available sources do not establish how many Amur leopards were born worldwide that year, or confirm births at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo or Korkeasaari Zoo. Marta and Sylas are the cub's parents, and the available sources do not identify Marta's previous institution or describe how she was paired with Sylas.
The birth was recommended under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Amur Leopard Species Survival Plan, a cooperative program designed to maintain a genetically diverse safety net for Amur leopards in North American zoos, according to Cleveland Metroparks. The cub is expected to become visible to the public at Asian Highlands in the coming weeks, though the zoo has not specified an exact debut date. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the cub's home, is also looking ahead to its future.
