Pairing clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) in a captive breeding program

Katherine Margaret MacKinnon

Pairing the endangered clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) for reproduction in captivity is risky due to unpredictable male aggression toward females, which can result in lethal attacks or a need to intervene to prevent injury. To assess potential early indicators for successful pairings (i.e., pairings producing cubs), behavioral observations and fecal hormones were evaluated on four juvenile-male (< 1 y) and nine adult-male (> 1 y) pairs of clouded leopards in a breeding program in the Thailand Clouded Leopard Consortium at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. Fecal cortisol concentrations, stereotyped pacing behavior and fighting were predicted to be lower in successful than failed pairs, and animals in successful pairs were predicted to display more affiliative behaviors than those in failed pairs. It also was predicted that pairs are more likely to be successful when females are paired with a juvenile male, rather than an adult male. Behavioral observations were conducted on paired males and females 2-5 times weekly. Daily fecal samples were collected for hormonal analysis of cortisol by enzyme immunoassay. Data were analyzed to identify predictors of successful (n = 5) versus failed (n = 8) pairings using generalized linear models. As predicted, animals in successful pairs exhibited higher (p < 0.05) levels of affiliative behaviors (grooming, rubbing on other cat) than animals in failed pairs. Neither pacing nor exploratory behaviors were significantly different between animals in successful versus failed pairs. Male fecal cortisol baseline, mean and peak mean were higher in failed than successful pairs (p < 0.01). No differences were observed in female fecal cortisol mean, baseline or peak mean concentrations (p > 0.05). However, fecal cortisol coefficient of variation around the mean was higher (p < 0.05) in successful than failed females. Although pairing females with juvenile versus adult males did not directly predict success (p > 0.05), specific behaviors (e.g., groom other cat, female rub on other cat) did predict success (p < 0.05) when the juvenile/adult-male variable was included in the model. These results suggest that behavior and hormone levels could be used to predict whether a pair of clouded leopards will reproduce successfully.

Pairing clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) in a captive breeding program

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