The parents of the "Olympic" cubs, Zadig and Andrea, were brought to the Persian Leopard Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre in Sochi from Lisbon Zoo in October 2012.

The young leopards will now be kept with their mother before eventually being released into the wild in the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve where experts will continue to monitor their health and development.


"The birth of these leopards proves success of the Sochi 2014 Environmental Programme," Sochi 2014 President Dmitry Chernyshenko said.

"We are committed to staging Games in accordance with environmental and sustainable development principles and determined to protect endangered species such as the Persian leopard, which has become a symbol of the Olympic Games of 2014 in Sochi."

Sochi launched the campaign to reintroduce the Persian leopard, of which there are no more than 1,290 mature individuals in the wild, back in to the Caucasus region after they largely disappeared because of poaching and a shrinking habitat.

If the programme continues its success in the future, a stable leopard population will be created on Russian territory in 10-15 years' time.

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