The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo shared a little secret last week.

A critically endangered Amur leopard was born at the zoo, making 12-year-old Anya a second-time mom, according to a July 27 news release.

Born May 5, the cub was recently confirmed to be female and has “bright, twinkling eyes, striking black spots and perfectly round ears,” the news release stated.

“While she’s a little shyer than Anya’s first cubs, Basha and Mango, she’s a total mama’s girl. Because she’s the only cub, she gets plenty of one-on-one time with Anya and is learning by following her mom’s lead,” Basia Dann, senior animal keeper in the Asian Highlands area of the zoo, said in the news release.

Basha and Mango were born in 2023 and were the first Amur cubs born at the zoo in nearly 20 years.

The recently welcomed cub will be named by a “generous donor.” She is still behind the scenes at the zoo and will venture into public view at a later date, the news release stated. Her favorite hobbies include cuddling Anya and eating whipped cream.

Amur leopards are critically endangered, with only about 100 living in the wild in eastern Russia and China. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Amur leopards make up 3% of the wild population, according to the zoo.

“That’s why CMZoo has been committed to the Amur Leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP) and accepted the risky breeding recommendation in 2019… this cub is considered very important within the SSP,” the news release stated.