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Snow leopard cubs receive first health check at Highland Wildlife Park


By Niall Harkiss

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The snow leopard cubs received their first health check at the Highland Wildlife Park.
The snow leopard cubs received their first health check at the Highland Wildlife Park.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has revealed the three adorable snow leopard cubs born at Highland Wildlife Park in May are two girls and a boy.

Expert keepers and vets at the wildlife conservation charity confirmed the sex of the eight-week-old cubs during their first routine health check on Tuesday July 26. The trio of tiny new arrivals, who are doing well, will be named soon.

Keith Gilchrist, living collections manager at Highland Wildlife Park said, “We were thrilled to welcome three snow leopard cubs to mum Animesh and first-time dad Koshi earlier this summer. It is very exciting to find out we have two little girls and a boy and that all three cubs are in good health.

“They are already becoming more confident every day and it is incredible to see them grow and develop. Some lucky visitors have already been able to spot them as they have started to explore further from the cubbing den.

“Like all the animals in our care, our snow leopards play an important role in attracting and engaging thousands of visitors each year so they can learn about the threats animals face in the wild and the action they can take to help. Their power to connect people with nature and encourage behaviour change is invaluable.”

In the wild, snow leopards can be found in the remote mountainous areas of central Asia. Now protected throughout much of their native range, snow leopard populations are still threatened due to a decline in available prey and human conflict.

Keith added, “It has been a fantastic year of births here at the park with our three tiger cubs recently turning one and Brodie, our adorable polar bear cub, continuing to capture the hearts of our visitors. Now with the addition of our trio of snow leopard cubs, we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the park’s 50th year.”

At just eight weeks old, the cubs are still dependent on mum and are spending much of their time in the cubbing den. Visitors might be able to spot them exploring their enclosure and learning more about their surroundings in the coming weeks.


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