Fukuoka Zoo named a Tsushima leopard cat kitten Nagi

Fukuoka Zoo marked 30 years of caring for Tsushima leopard cats by naming a kitten and accepting a thank-you from the island where the cats still live. The Mainichi reported the story on October 31, 2026. The zoo in Chuo Ward was the first in Japan to keep the species, starting in 1996. Of 88 Tsushima leopard cats born in facilities nationwide, 63 were born at Fukuoka, about 70 percent. As of the end of September 2026, 36 cats were in 10 facilities, seven of them at this zoo. Fewer than 100 are thought to remain in the wild. The cat is a nationally designated natural monument, and Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture is its only natural home.

A female kitten born in April, the first birth in four years, was named Nagi. The zoo offered three names. Of 5,656 public votes, 2,371 chose Nagi, a word that evokes calm seas and the island. She now lives apart from her mother, Choco, weighs about 2.7 kilograms, and swims. Zookeeper Yuki Saito, who is from Tsushima, called her curious. Visitors can also see Hime, Choco's mother, who was rescued from the wild. Nineteen of Hime's descendants live in facilities across Japan.

On October 8, Tsushima leopard cat day, Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu gave zoo director Yoshihiro Kiryu a certificate of appreciation. Kiryu said the cats are sensitive and that the zoo wants to put more into conservation. Through December 27, the zoo cafe is selling a limited soft-serve, about 700 yen, designed by students at Fukuoka College of ECO & Animal. A code on the cup opens a student site about the species, and part of the proceeds goes to conservation and breeding. The Mainichi account is about that anniversary and that kitten. It is not a count of cats born in the wild this year.