HOUSTON — The Houston Zoo recently welcomed one of the world's rarest big cats to its family.
Lisa is a 13-year-old Amur leopard known for her confident, curious, and sassy personality, according to her animal care team. They say she enjoys lounging in the sun and snacking on beef and rabbit.
The team is using fans, misters and a waterfall feature to help Lisa adjust to Houston's heat and humidity.
She joined Shasta VII and Louie in the Houston Zoo's cougar habitat.
Lisa came to Houston from Chicago where they named her Lisa because her mother was Mona so the pair was affectionately known as "Mona Lisa."
With less than 100 Amur leopards left in the wild, they are one of the rarest big cats in the world and are critically endangered.
Amur leopards are named after the Amur River and they're native to northern China and eastern Russia. They sometimes share territories with the Amur tiger.
Similar in size to other leopards, they can run up to 35 mph but they have longer legs and larger feet to help walk through snow environments.
The decline of their population in the wild is due to many factors including habitat loss, poaching, and human encroachment.
Amur leopards and other wildlife need trees to survive, and by using less paper or recycled-content paper products at the Houston Zoo, fewer trees are cut down, protecting forest habitats for animals in the wild.
