Endangered and Adorable

And so, early yesterday  two newborn clouded leopard cubs were found alive, well and squealing at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va, Thailand. They were taken immediately from their gorgeous mother before she could do them harm, or do them in, placed in an incubator set at 88 degrees and fed salt water from baby bottles. Born with dappled, reptile-pattern fur, they were the first such births at the zoo in 16 years.

Their births were a coup, and the end of a complex reproduction saga involving an exotic, endangered and beautiful species of animal that experts call the ghost cat

It was also a genetic home run: The zoo said the cubs' genes, which come from outside the captive population, make them among the most valuable clouded leopards in North America. Check out the rest of 2 adorable cubs

Hannibal, an endangered clouded leopard at the Smithsonian’s National is the father of a genetically valuable litter of two cubs

Jao Chu, the mother of 2 adorale cubs gave birth to a genetically valuable litter of two cubs