Oklahoma Zoo Forecasts ‘Cloudy with a chance of cute’ After Rare Clouded Leopard Kitten Born

In August, a clouded leopard mother named Rukai gave birth to a kitten, who’s “eating, sleeping and growing,” according to the keepers at the Oklahoma City Zoo where he was born.

The tiny tropical predator, named JD, is doing well, and the zoo reported that as part of a program to ensure the clouded leopard’s survival in the wild, this little fellow will play an important role as an ambassador to the public, 99.999% of whom will never see this nocturnal predator in the wild.

But even with all this seriousness, the zoo couldn’t help but forecast their August as “cloudy, with a 100% chance of making you go ‘Aww.'”

Clouded leopards are native to South and Southeast Asia, but have disappeared entirely from several nations like Vietnam and Taiwan. Current science states that it was the first cat to diverge from the common ancestors of all big cats over 9 million years ago.

Clouded leopards have incredible dexterity, and can climb down trees head first and are able to hang from tree branches by bending their hind paws and tail around a tree limb. They can climb onto horizontal branches whilst hanging with their back to the ground like a monkey.

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