'Beautiful' rare leopards born at Colchester Zoo

CCTV footage captured Esra with her cubs at the zoo

Rare Amur leopards have been born at Colchester Zoo after mum Esra gave birth to two cubs.

The species normally live in temperate forests in Russia and China and the Essex zoo estimated there were only around 70 left in the wild.

The birth of the cubs, in the early hours of Sunday 24 November, was "a great achievement for the conservation of this beautiful but rare species".

Emma Thompson, Colchester Zoo’s carnivore team leader said: “We can already see that one of the cubs is more boisterous than the other, but both are doing really well along with mum, Esra."

There is estimated to be around only 70 Amur leopards left in the wild

Leopards are under threat and can be hunted for their fur and killed to be used in traditional Chinese medicines.

The zoo's spokesperson said conservation of the species was vital and added: "If we don’t act now to help this critically endangered species, we risk losing this beautiful big cat we share our planet with."

The cubs’ dad, Crispin, arrived at Colchester Zoo on 28 April 2018, from the Czech Republic and mum, Esra, joined him on 29 May 2018, from Belgium, as part of a breeding programme.

Ms Thompson said: "It is great to see her [Esra] on the CCTV carrying out an amazing job as mum! The team here at Colchester Zoo are so proud of Esra and Crispin!"