snow leopards get into the spirit of christmas
O
ur stunning snow leopard cubs are now six months old.
To celebrate, our animal keepers planted a Christmas tree in the their enclosure last week and the cubs enjoyed climbing the tree and attacking the branches with Mum.
Marc Fox, assistant section manager of carnivores said: “The cubs are doing really well. They are playful with each other and enjoy showing their agility when they play by climbing right up on the steep ledges on the rock face.
“Mum is still very calm and coping fine, she lets them know when she wants space and some peace and quiet, and they respect her enough to obey!”
The cubs, two female and a male, were born in June as part of the European endangered species breeding programme (EEP). Mum Irina and Dad Indeever, arrived at the park in January 2010 and are proving to be excellent parents.
The birth of these cubs was an important achievement for the conservation of these beautiful animals.
Snow leopards, like all big cat species, are threatened in the wild. This means that maintaining a healthy captive population of snow leopards is of vital importance to the global conservation strategy for the species.
See more of our cubs in this festive video or view more photos by visiting our Flickr Gallery