New snow leopard cubs at Stone Zoo
Published on September 7th, 2005
Heralded as yet another sign of the Stone Zoo’s resurgence, Zoo New England officials unveiled the newest exhibit at the facility last week: a pair of two male snow leopard cubs.
According to Zoo New England spokeswoman Melissa Grossenbacher, the two cubs, who were born last May 24 and will be on exhibit for at least two years, join the growing number of endangered cats at the zoo.
"These little guys are a great contribution to the captive population [of snow leopards]. I don’t think it was intentional, but it happened that way [that we ended up exhibiting a large number of cats]. So yeah, big cats are a huge draw to the area," said Grossenbacher.
"Stone Zoo is a great site. We did close a few years back, but we’re really trying to [revive the facility] into a world class organization. Only 260 zoos are actually accredited, so [being one of those zoos], that’s a very big honor for us," the spokeswoman added.
Put on display for the general public to see for the first time last Thursday, a number of zoo patrons had to scrutinize every portion of the animals’ enclosement for a view of the fluffy cats.
"Daddy, I see him. Look he’s up there!" yelled one child exuberantly upon spotting a tail rising above a rock ledge concealed from view.
According to Stone Zoo officials, the two cubs, which have received all their vaccinations and necessary medical treatments, will now stay with their mom, Tang, for approximately two-years to essentially learn all there is to know about being a snow leopard.
Now weaned from their mother’s milk, the two cats enjoy a diet of solids, including the big cat favorite meal of fresh meat. Since snow leopards tend to be private animals, the two cubs will be separated from their father, Sazik.
"Ideally, we want any animal to be raised by its mother. But snow leopards are pretty solitary animals, so [Sazik] is kept separate from them. If he was to come up to the cubs [in the wild], mom would probably shoo him away," said Grossenbacher.
The two males cubs will then probably be sent to other zoos to breed with other snow leopards as part of the same program that brought about their birth, a Species Survival program.
Endangered in their natural Himalayan home in Central Asia mostly because of poaching, losses to their natural habitat and prey populations, and retribution killings for attacking herders’ sheep and livestock, scientists estimate only 3,500 to 7,000 of the animals remain in the wild.
"Snow leopards are very interesting animals. And they’re very endangered. They use their unique design to accommodate to the snow. They have big paws kind of like snowshoes and a long tail to keep their balance," Grossenbacher explained.
According to the spokeswoman, the addition of the two cubs means that the Stone Zoo will now have successfully breed a number of offspring to its endangered animals, including Mexican gray wolf pups and jaguar cubs.
Appearing most excited about the Mexican gray wolf pups, the zoo spokeswoman explained that very few of the animals exist in their natural habitat, and the offspring could one day be reintroduced back into the wild to help bolster the population.
In addition to jaguars, Mexican gray wolves, and snow leopards, the Stone Zoo also has a Canadian Lynx, coyotes, cougars, American bald eagles, and a number of other rare animal species.
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