Adorable rare leopard cub makes her debut at Santa Barbara Zoo

Marta is ready for her closeup.

Last Thursday, the rare Amur leopard cub made her first public appearance at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Marta was born in August, weighing just 1 pound, 1 ounce, and has spent the last few months bonding with her mother, Ajax. For her debut, Marta spent about an hour in her outside habitat, with the delighted crowd watching her run, jump, and play.

Amur leopards are critically endangered, and it's estimated there are only 100 left in the wild, living in China and Russia. Ajax is "the most genetically valuable female Amur leopard in North America," the Santa Barbara Zoo said in August, and Marta, her first cub, "will contribute valuable genetics to the population." Lorena Muro, a manager at the zoo, told NewsChannel 3-12 Marta's birth was "a huge win," and the team is "just elated."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.