Late afternoon on Christmas Eve 2020, Yakalla gave birth to two healthy boys after building her nest the night before. Asanka and Chatura have been a highlight for the zoo staff and visitors and dad was reintroduced to the family for periods after three months and full time shortly afterwards. Again, his raising with his parents has allowed for the family to live together.
Sri Lankan Leopards are listed as Endangered (IUCN). They are Sri Lanka’s only apex predator and are endemic to Sri Lanka. Hunting became a popular sport among wealthy British people on the island and as a result, most species in Sri Lanka are endangered. Although now illegal, poaching and human-leopard conflict is the major cause for the declining population, now approximately only 1,000 animals.
Although a nocturnal species, Ankesh and the boys are almost always out in the large naturalistic enclosure.