Dhiren and Czar prowling now
Published on November 23rd, 2005
Zoo New England has announced that Stone Zoo's male snow leopard cubs, born on May 24, 2005, received names on November 12, 2005. The naming rights for the two cubs were auctioned off at Stone Zoo's "A Wild Affair" fundraiser on September 24, 2005, which celebrated Stone Zoo's centennial anniversary.
The Andersen family of Andover, MA, composed of mother and father, Christine and Christian, and children Zachary, Griffin, Camille, and Bryson, chose to name one cub "Dhiren" which is Hindi for "one who is strong, powerful", while David and Cynthia Hill chose to name the other cub "Czar" meaning "king" or "emperor" in Russian.
On the day that they came to name the cubs, the Andersen's and the Hill's received a behind-the-scenes tour of the snow leopard exhibit - led by Pete Costello, Stone Zoo's Assistant Curator - which gave them up close and personal time with the cubs.
Czar and Dhiren are the second set of cubs born to parents Sazik and Tang. Their birth came as a result of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommended breeding.
"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.
"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.
Stone Zoo has been active in snow leopard conservation since the species first arrived at the Zoo in 1998.
In addition to being supporters of the Snow Leopard Trust, an organization that seeks to preserve snow leopards in their natural habitat by educating locals about their plight, Zoo New England's pair of snow leopards contributed to the captive North American population by producing three cubs in 1999.
The cubs are on exhibit daily, weather permitting. They will remain with their mother at Stone Zoo for approximately two years.
Only 3,500 to 7,000 snow leopards remain in the mountains of Central Asia today. The primary threats to the wild population are poaching, habitat and prey loss, retribution killings and conflicts with herders, and lack of awareness, policy, and implementation.
According to the spokeswoman, the addition of the two cubs means that the Stone Zoo will now have successfully bred 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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