Amur Leopard Killed While Mating: Zoo CEO Says ‘It’s An Aggressive Process’


An Amur leopard was killed by another leopard in a mating process that went wrong.

The two leopards were placed together in an enclosed area at Erie Zoo in Western Pennsylvania on Monday with the intention that Edgar, the 5-year-old male, would do what leopards need to do to reproduce with 7-year-old Lina, the female.

The attempted mating was critical for two reasons. Firstly, Amur leopards are classified as an endangered species, so procreation is essential. And, secondly, female Amur leopards spend only one week a year in heat, so the window of opportunity was somewhat limited.

Apparently, Edgar was not in the mood for sex, and he attacked Lina, biting her throat. The leopards were separated, and veterinarians were brought in, but the injuries to Lina’s trachea were so severe that she died.

Erie Zoo president and CEO Scott Mitchell said that violence during mating is not unusual, but in his 30-year career, he has never lost another zoo animal in a breeding attack.

“Many of these animals live their lives relatively solo, and they come together only to breed or mate, so it can be a kind of aggressive process,” Mitchell said.

Strangely, this was not the first time that Lina – on loan from the Minnesota Zoo – and Edgar had been put together, but previous meetings had passed without incident,

Mitchell added that Edgar “might move to a different facility, he could be part of an artificial insemination, we don’t yet know,”

Meanwhile, Edgar remains on display at the zoo facing an uncertain future.

Amur leopards are among the most rare and endangered of all the big cats. Only about 40 of them are known to be living in the wild in China and Russia. There around 200 living in captivity worldwide, according to the Zoological Society of London.

Hopefully, future mating attempts will not turn out as badly as this one.

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