An endangered clouded leopard kitten is the newest arrival at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa.
Just 10 days old, the as-yet-unnamed baby is the first kitten born to the zoo's pair of 4-year-old clouded leopards.
The newborn kitten is feeding well and gaining weight and has just started to open his eyes, zoo officials said. They expect he will be strong enough to walk in the next few weeks.
The kitten will be hand-reared until he is weaned, which should be when he's about three months old. He's currently living in the zoo's veterinary hospital.
The kitten's parents, Yim and Malee, came to the zoo in 2011 when they were 6 months old. They were paired as potential mates through the Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan, which is a program by the Assocation of Zoos and Aquariums meant to support the conservation of species at risk of extinction.
Zoo officials said the kitten introduces new genetics into the species' managed population in North America.
Officials say the birth of the new kitten means there are now 87 clouded leopards in AZA-accredited institutions.
Clouded leopards are the smallest of the big cats, weighing between 30 and 50 pounds in adulthood and measuring about five feet long. The cats are native to the forests and rainforests of Southeast Asia, and they are known and reclusive cats.
Officials said the leopard is vulnerable to extinction as a result of deforestation, as well as hunting and poaching.