Greenville Zoo trying to mate endangered leopards, Irina & Basha. Here’s how the 1st date went

Once, it was Jade and Nelkan.

Now, with any luck, it will be Irina and Basha.

They are all part of a breeding program at the Greenville Zoo that dates back almost a decade for the seriously threatened Amur leopard.

So threatened it is estimated there are anywhere from the high teens to less than 100 of the big cats in the wild and perhaps 300 in zoos.

Irina from the St. Louis Zoo and Basha from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado, have been at the Greenville Zoo for some time but were just recently introduced face to face.

The pair were matched through the Species Survival Program and introduced gradually. They saw each other, smelled each other and were allowed to touch each other.

“Basha and Irina are ‘changing their relationship status’ and spending time together on exhibit,” city officials said. “A successful first date is a ‘baby step’ toward future cubs.”

“Both leopards are engaging with each other and establishing boundaries. So far, we are seeing them slowly build a repertoire of social behavior,” said Jay Stutz, general curator for the zoo.

Amur leopards are found in the forests and mountains of eastern Russia and northern China, named after the Amur River, which flows along the border of the two countries.

Their survival has been threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and inbreeding, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said.

Irina has been at the Greenville Zoo since October 2024. Sadly her twin Anya died after dental surgery at Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, North Dakota.

Jade, the Greenville Zoo’s previous female Amur leopard, gave birth to four cubs with her mate Nelkan. At the time those cubs were born the Greenville Zoo had two other cubs, who were born in 2017.

When she “retired,” Jade was sent to the North Dakota zoo.

Nelkan was sent to the Philadelphia Zoo.

Jade’s offspring went to zoos in Memphis and Syracuse, New York. She was transferred to the Greenville Zoo in 2011 from the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana.

Nelkan was imported and transferred to the Greenville Zoo specifically to breed with Jade.

This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 5:30 AM.