NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A pair of stunning snow leopard cubs are the newest residents of the Bronx Zoo.
The two cubs, a male and a female, debuted this week at the zoo's Himalayan Highlands exhibit, which 10 snow leopards call home, officials said Friday.
According to the zoo, snow leopards are among the world's most elusive big cats and are sometimes called "the ghosts of the mountains."
They live at high elevations in some of the harshest conditions on Earth in places like China, India and Russia, using their white-gray coat to blend into rocky terrain and their large-padded feet to trek through the snow.
The two cubs were born over the summer to mother Dariga and father Naltar, who is the offspring of Leo, who arrived at the zoo in 2006 as an orphaned cub from Pakistan.
Zookeepers have yet to decide on names for the cubs but are seeking names that match their personalities, the zoo said.
A total of 80 snow leopards have lived at the zoo since the first big cats were exhibited there in 1903.
Snow leopards are classified as “Vulnerable” by the International Union of Conservation of Nature, with somewhere between 2,700 and 7,500 in the wild. Poaching is one of their biggest threats.
The zoo said it takes part in the Species Survival Plan program, a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic viability of animal populations in zoos.
The zoo is managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs a global conservation program that has a long history of snow leopard conservation in China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.
