RICHMOND, Va. -- The Metro Richmond Zoo is celebrating the arrival of two new snow leopard cubs born at the zoo in April.
According to the zoo, the cubs, Sasha and Kira, were born on April 28, 2024 following a 3 month gestation period. The zoo's Elsa and Nitro are the parents of the new cubs.
The snow leopard cubs will now be able to be viewed by zoo visitors at the snow leopard exhibit on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The Metro Richmond Zoo says the exhibit will help provide zoo guests the educational opportunity to watch snow leopards grow.
The cubs had to be born inside of a private den for the leopards and spent a few months in there bonding with their mother. In the wild, snow leopard males aren't involved in the rearing of young cubs.
In fact, snow leopards are born with their eyes closed and depend on their mother for care and protection. According to the zoo, "Cubs open their eyes around 7 days old and start crawling/walking around 3 to 4 weeks. In the wild, Snow leopard cubs will not venture from their den until they are 2 to 4 months old."
It wasn't until the cubs were five days old that the zoo's veterinary team was able to check on them for a neonatal exam. The cubs at that time each weighed 1.5 pounds and at their most recent exam weight 12.5 pounds.
This litter of cubs is the 5th for Elsa and Nitro but the first litter to have multiple cubs. And the zoo says that Elsa, "is an experienced mother and very protective of her cubs."
Sasha and Kira spend their days now playing, climbing, jumping, and wrestling together. While they still nurse from their mother they have also started to eat meat.
Snow leopards are listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red Listand are listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. While estimates of their population is difficult due to their elusiveness the best estimates place the wild population between 3,000 and 6,000 individuals.
The Metro Richmond Zoo is a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums species survival plan for Snow leopards to help protect their populations. When the cubs are ready to live independently, they will be transferred to other accredited facilities in the U.S. based on pairing recommendations.
One of Elsa's previous cubs is already in another state and has had two litters of her own.
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