LOS ANGELES—A critically endangered species of leopard has died at a Southern California zoo.
Zoya, a 21-year-old Amur leopard, died of old age at 21 at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert last Tuesday after over a decade there, zoo officials announced.
Zoya outlived both the life expectancy of Amur leopards in the wild, 10 to 15 years, and in captivity, 15 to 20. Zoya was one of the oldest leopards in human care in the country, the zoo said.
Amur leopards were classified as critically endangered in 1996 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Native to the mountains of eastern Russia and northern China, they have adapted to the cold climate by having thick fur and paler coats than other leopard species to camouflage in the snow….