Rare snow leopards arrive in the Highlands
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A PAIR of endangered snow leopards have arrived at a wildlife park in the Highlands.
The big cats went on show at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie - the only place in Scotland where the stunning species can be seen, The hope is that the pair will eventually have cubs and help to increase the worldwide population of these big cats.
The male snow leopard, Chan, came to the park from Zoo Krefeld in Germany, while the female, Animesh, arrived this week from Marwell Zoo in England.
Both leopards are now two years of age.
Known as "the mountain ghost", snow leopards are masters of camouflage as their fur is white and smoky grey, speckled with dark-grey to black spots and rosettes, which allows them to blend into their natural surroundings.
Douglas Richardson, Head of Living Collections at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, said: "The addition of this magnificent species to the park is both exciting for our visitors and a wonderful addition to our collection which specialises in cold weather adapted species. "Snow leopards are Endangered and it is both a privilege and a serious responsibility to have a pair of these cats in our care.
"We have a recognised level of expertise in managing and breeding a range of wild cat species and we anticipate that we will be successful in breeding from Chan and Animesh and add to the success of the co-ordinated breeding programme, of which we are a part."
As snow leopards inhabitant high and rugged mountainous terrain in the wild, the location for their new home is a grassy cliff that overlooks the Spey and the Cairngorm Mountains. The snow leopards’ new home is in two parts with the leopards currently housed in a pair of very large, aviary-style enclosures at the top of the hill. The primary exhibit space is a grassy plateau that then drops down the face of the cliff and levels out with the public walkway at the bottom.
The leopards can be seen in the top enclosures, but due to them being new arrivals, it may be a little while before they begin to readily show themselves.
Snow leopard populations are believed to have declined by at least 20% over the last 16 years as a result of habitat loss and lack of animals to prey on, as well as poaching and retaliatory killings by farmers for preying on livestock.
It is estimated that 3,500 to 7,000 are left in the wild, while there are about 400 in the international managed zoo population.
