Clouded leopard cub at Nashville Zoo tears through presents in adorable holiday video
Nashville, Tennessee - The Nashville Zoo has delighted animal lovers with an adorable holiday video featuring a very excited clouded leopard cub.
"Is this a clouded leopard cub or a kid on Christmas morning?" the Nashville Zoo wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"Meow-y Christmas Weekend from Chai, Niran’s newly named cub!"
Anyone who visits the zoo's social media channels will be greeted by a cute clouded leopard cub just in time for the festive season.
The sweet baby animal resembles a human child anxiously opening its presents on Christmas morning.
In a video on X, the cub can be seen romping through its enclosure and impatiently tearing through wrapping paper with its teeth. Chai still looks a little clumsy, but in a few months' time, the big cat will probably no longer be satisfied with just empty boxes.43 clouded leopards have been born at the Nashville Zoo since 2009. Cubs are reared by hand until meat is on the menu for the first time.
Clouded leopards are threatened with extinction
There are currently around 10,000 clouded leopards still living in the wild. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of them as the species is threatened with extinction, the zoo notes on its website.
That's probably why every cub at the Nashville Zoo is handled with kid gloves and given plenty of presents for the holidays, even if only empty boxes.
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshots/X/@NashvilleZoo