Pei has a very special place in our hearts – he truly epitomizes “triumph of spirit.” Pei came to us from the Audubon Zoo after they experienced devastation from Hurricane Katrina.  When he arrived, Pei was quite aggressive – he was not very trusting and clearly showed signs of stress, having been traumatized by the storms.  Records showed that Pei had always been an aggressive cat and had rarely been handled by humans.  We began showing Pei how special we thought he was and on July 4 (a day we won’t forget), Pei came to the fence and made it clear he wanted us to interact with him.  It was a lesson in courage for all of us.  Pei turned 15 in 2008.

China is a clouded leopard who has been at Panther Ridge since 2002; she turns 15 years old in 2009.  China has had significant eye problems and has been treated by an opthamologist.  Following cataract surgery, her sight is much better. She tends to be shy so we've created a jungle environment for her. She can feel safe and secure behind the trees in her enclosure when strangers visit Panther Ridge. 

China is very sweet and has a very powerful bond with Judy.  For 6 years, China lived beside Eros, a clouded leopard who passed away in 2006.  Recently, Matti became her new neighbor and needless to say, China is making sure that Matti knows who was here first!

Matti is 15 years old and also came to us from the Audubon Zoo.  She has been part of the Species Survival Program.  She has opened up to us amazingly fast for a cat who had never been handled by humans before her arrival at Panther Ridge.  She is very loving and gentle and loves to cuddle – something that was clearly missing in her zoo environment.  She too teaches us how healing can occur in an environment of love and safety.

Ming and Suki are the newest arrivals at Panther Ridge, and are as cute as can be. (Why is it that small cats with big paws are such heart-grabbers?) Brother and sister, they were born in August of 2008 and arrived here in November. These two clowns are here to fill in the very large paw prints of our old ambassador cloudeds, who are finding it more appealing to lounge and sleep all day, just like clouded leopards in the wild. Ming and Suki, on the other hand, respond to visitors by tumbling out of their tree house and vocalizing for attention. Visitors lucky enough to come early in the morning or late in the afternoon may be treated to a riotous whirlwind of flying spots - bouncing off the cage into trees and platforms and suspended logs. It's as if their paws were made of Velcro!

Sadly, we recently said goodbye to Melly, a 15-year-old clouded who had come to us from the Audubon Zoo and lived in loving comfort at Panther Ridge for many years. She had a special bond with Judy, and often called out when she heard Judy's voice. Click on the video link below to see some images of this late, great creature.

See video footage and learn more about clouded leopards