Young snow leopard Tamani. Photo: Korkeasaari Zoo / Annika Sorjonen
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Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki has welcomed back snow leopards with the arrival of two young female snow leopards, reviving the zoo’s tradition of housing this magnificent and endangered species. The previous inhabitant of the enclosure has moved to Ähtäri Zoo to meet a new mate, as part of efforts to maintain a healthy captive population of snow leopards, which serves as a lifeline for the species native to cold mountainous regions.
The zoo’s newest residents, soon-to-be two-year-old sisters from Basel Zoo in Switzerland, were transferred at an age when, in the wild, growing cubs would naturally leave their mother’s side. The siblings are comfortably settling into their new home in Korkeasaari, sharing their enclosure as they have always done.
In the wild, young snow leopards would face the challenge of finding their own territory, but in zoos, this task falls to a species coordinator responsible for managing the studbook and ensuring the genetic diversity of the captive population. The coordinator finds suitable breeding partners for the snow leopards; however, not all individuals are expected to breed, especially if their genetic lines are already well represented. Currently, there are no breeding expectations for the young females at Korkeasaari.
“The newcomers are enjoying their time best at the back of the enclosure on top of the cave, where they feel safe to observe their surroundings. The enclosure is still an exciting place for them, but they have shown trust towards their keepers. To aid in individual identification, color markings were sprayed onto their nape fur before departure, which will fade in a couple of weeks,” shares zookeeper Jonne Stenroth.
Korkeasaari’s previous snow leopard, a six-year-old male, was moved to Ähtäri Zoo in January, hopeful that he would pair well with a female of the same age there. The new couple has already started to get acquainted, though they are still living in separate enclosures for the time being.
Korkeasaari Zoo has a long history of contributing to snow leopard conservation. Since 2012, the zoo has supported in-the-wild conservation efforts through the Snow Leopard Trust. The European conservation breeding program for the species was initiated in Korkeasaari, and the zoo has celebrated remarkable breeding success over the years, with over a hundred cubs born since the 1960s. Most of the world’s zoo-dwelling snow leopards are, in one way or another, related to those that have called Korkeasaari their home.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
