 FIRST EVER SNOW LEOPARD BIRTHS IN WALES AT THE WELSH MOUNTAIN ZOO - NATIONAL ZOO OF WALES
The Welsh Mountain Zoo’s two resident Snow Leopards have successfully given birth to beautiful twin cubs. The new arrivals were born at 6pm on Thursday 28th May 2009 and are the first ever to be born in Wales.
First time parents Otilia and Szechuan have been together at the Zoo for 3 years as part of a European breeding programme for Snow Leopards coordinated from Helsinki Zoo in Finland. Mother Otilia (born in Tallin Zoo in Estonia on 29 April 2005) and father Szechuan (born in Szeged Zoo in Hungary on 2 May 2005) arrived in Colwyn Bay in May 2006
For the safety of the new-born cubs, Szechuan was moved to a separate area of the enclosure to allow Otilia and twins to grow in strength. The males have little involvement in the rearing of new born cubs so new mum and cubs have been enjoying some privacy in the off-show section of the enclosure.
Keepers have been watching the young family around the clock ready to intervene at any moment should the mother fail to rear her cubs, which can be quite common for a first time birth. However, at 4 weeks old, it is thought that human intervention will not now be needed as the cubs are calm and comfortable suckling mum’s milk. The twins opened their eyes for the first time recently and it is likely that their mother will begin introducing them to solid foods in the next few weeks.
Snow Leopards are an endangered species, with a population in the wild as low as 4,000 animals. Any new birth of these big cats is a huge success and the Welsh Mountain Zoo is ensuring that the process is managed carefully. The mother and young have remained off show up to now (Szechuan has still been viewable by Zoo visitors) however they are just beginning to explore and will soon venture out of their den when they are expected to become the Zoo’s star summer attraction.
Names will be chosen for the cubs once their gender has been determined at about 3 months old.
Zoological Director Nick Jackson said “The birth of any animal at the Zoo is a cause for great excitement, but the snow leopards are so beautiful and so threatened in the wild that this is a very special event for the National Zoo of Wales.”
July 2009
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