Amur leopard cubA fourteen week old Amur leopard cub explores its enclosure at Marwell Zoo, UK. The Panthera pardus orientalis is listed as critically endangered as a result of being hunted and habitat changes in eastern Asia.

A recent census found less than 35 of the creatures, which like to roam large areas of wilderness, left in the wild in far eastern Russia.

Members of the public have been invited to suggest names for the cub online.

The birth was part of a European conservation breeding programme to try to save the breed from extinction.

Until now the three-month-old cub has been kept inside with its mother Ascha.

Last week it experienced its first human contact, when it was sedated and taken for a check up by zoo staff.

Amur leopards were once found in the forests of Russia, Korea and China but their range has diminished due to poaching, as well as the loss of their habitat due to competition with humans for land.

The Wildlife Conservation Society, which carried out the census of Amur leopards, has classified the breed as endangered and threatened with extinction.

A zoo spokeswoman said: “Amur leopards face an uncertain future.
“As well as risks posed by man, the small worldwide population size means that the species is particularly vulnerable to inbreeding which can cause genetic problems including reduced fertility.