In today’s episode, we’re back at the sanctuary with two of our most majestic and intelligent big cats—Luna, the sleek and curious black panther, and our trained leopard, who we’ve worked with for over a year. Luna is still young and full of energy, always eager to explore her surroundings and interact with her handlers. Today, however, she’s not the only star of the show. We’ve brought the leopard back into the training enclosure for a special session to test her memory and obedience.
While Luna enjoys various forms of enrichment—climbing, playing with toys, and engaging in scent tracking—the real question we’re exploring today is: Will the leopard remember the commands we taught her months ago? This leopard had been trained using positive reinforcement techniques and was responsive to several verbal cues and hand signals. But with a break in her training, it’s uncertain whether she’ll perform as she did in the past.
As Luna bounds around, we take a calm, methodical approach with the leopard, starting with basic commands like “sit” and “stay.” The first few attempts are hesitant—she clearly recognizes the signals but seems unsure. However, as the session progresses, something remarkable happens: the leopard starts responding accurately to each command, one after another, as if no time had passed.
Luna watches with curiosity, even trying to mimic a few behaviors herself! The contrast between Luna’s playful unpredictability and the leopard’s focused obedience highlights the unique personalities of these two incredible animals.
If you’ve ever wondered whether wild cats can form long-term memories of human-taught behaviors, this episode gives you a glimpse into their remarkable intelligence. With English subtitles included, everyone can follow along as we test memory, reinforce training, and, most importantly, build trust between humans and these amazing creatures.
