Welsh Zoo confirms new snow leopard cub is a male
The Welsh Mountain Zoo has revealed its first Snow Leopard cub born in a decade is male.
The cub’s sex was confirmed this week during routine health checks carried out by vets and keepers.
The new arrival is also the first cub to be born to the newest snow leopard pairing (Sumbe and Padme) within the zoo’s Silk Road habitat, which was completed in 2021.
Breeding in managed zoo settings alongside the Welsh Mountain Zoo’s annual commitment to the Snow Leopard Trust is seen as critical in helping to raise awareness of the pressures that wild Snow Leopard populations face whilst safeguarding their future conservation.
Donation
In celebration of the new cub announcement the Zoo will be running a Snow Leopard Cub Name Donation Drive on its social media platforms until the 2nd of September.
Zookeepers have selected four names and members of the public will be invited to donate £1 as a vote for favourite.
The name that has the most votes will become the cub’s new name, with 100% of money donated going directly to the Snow Leopard Trust.
Chris Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of the zoo in Colwyn Bay said: “It’s great to see the most recent addition to our Zoo family thriving, and we are thrilled to finally announce that the Snow Leopard cub is a boy.
“He is developing just as he should and is growing in confidence every day; venturing out and around both in public and behind the scenes in the Snow Leopard habitat, whilst staying close to mum.
“With confirmation of the cub’s sex, we’ve now chosen four wonderful and symbolic names for our new boy, including Zephyr meaning light/west wind; Tai Lung, meaning great dragon; Layan, representative of the Himalayas; and Qilian, translating to sky/mountain range.
“We understand and appreciate the excitement that our guests have around the newest addition to our Zoo family, and felt that this name donation drive would allow visitors to help us choose a great name whilst raising funds for the brilliant Snow Leopard Trust.”
The Zoo has a long history with Snow Leopards, a species which is classed by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable in the wild.
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