Sao, our clouded leopard

At PAL, I live with Earth, a 15-year-old female born in Al BUSTAN (United Arab Emirates). We have known each other for a long time because we already shared our enclosure in our previous zoo in Greece.

Earth has a certain character, she prefers to hide from the gaze of visitors and rest in the nest boxes. When the weather is nice, she likes to sunbathe.

We are together all the time! The only times we are apart are mealtimes. I tend to be a bit greedy and it is not uncommon for me to steal my female's leftovers. Obviously, this is not very good for my weight, which my keepers monitor closely.

At PAL, I eat chicken, quail and beef at a rate of about 5 to 6 kg per week. My food is only served to me with tongs through the bars of my enclosure, which allows my keepers to see me up close.

I am not the type to let myself be easily observed, I spend most of my time hidden.

At PAL, we live in a very wooded enclosure made of bamboo and tall grass to be able to hide and form a visual barrier with visitors. We need to be able to climb on high apparatus, which explains the presence of many tree trunks in our enclosure.

Our keepers come to see us at least twice a day to ensure our well-being, our meals, our enrichment and of course our safety both in the enclosure and in our building. These daily visits also allow our keepers to clean our enclosure.

A big thank you to Oeil de Soigneur who provided us with these magnificent photos of Sao! Find their photos of the PAL animals on Facebook and Instagram!

Did you know ?

“I’m a smooth talker!”