Cryopreserved semen. A rare species of secretive, predatory feline. Names like Hannibal and Tula. This story has all the trappings of a blockbuster hit. But instead, it’s all about how the genes of a clouded leopard in D.C. ended up meeting with the ovum of another in Nashville.

On March 1, a male clouded leopard cub was born at the Nashville Zoo to female Tula. The daddy, Hannibal, resides at the Smithsonian National Zoo in D.C. The two skipped the hanky panky to get Tula pregnant.

That’s because it’s tough to mate clouded leopards. They’re “among the rarest of the world’s cat species and one of the most secretive,” a release from the zoos said, so researchers don’t know that much about them. What they do know is that they’re “sensitive to auditory and visual disturbances,” making artificial insemination one of the better ways to breed them.

But even then there are complications, because clouded leopards are “spontaneous ovulators,” meaning they can release an egg at any time. That’s why researchers tried a different method, pioneered in Thailand, this time around.

A week after researchers collected and froze Hannibal’s semen in the District, a team in Nashville thawed it out and used a new technique “depositing a very small volume of semen into the oviduct where the eggs normally rest after ovulation,” according to the zoos.

“This is an enormous accomplishment for both Nashville Zoo and the team at the Smithsonian,” said Dr. Heather Robertson, Director of Veterinary Services at the National Zoo. “It means we can collect and preserve semen from clouded leopard populations around the globe and improve pregnancy outcomes from artificial insemination procedures in this species.”

While the Smithsonian National Zoo’s panda breeding program gets a lot of attention, the institution also taught a porcupine to submit to an ultrasound, though ultimately the plan was foiled when the machine couldn’t see past her thick quills.

The male clouded leopard cub is staying in Nashville, sadly, where it will be hand-raised by keepers. The plan is to eventually introduce him to a potential mate there.

Clouded leopards, considered a “vulnerable” species (one step before endangered), are among the only animals that can climb down a tree headfirst.