Sex of adorable baby snow leopard revealed by Welsh Zoo

The Welsh Mountain Zoo – National Zoo of Wales has revealed the sex of its first Snow Leopard cub in a decade… he’s a wonderful baby boy!

The sex was confirmed this week during routine health checks carried out by Vets and Keepers.

In celebration of this announcement the Zoo will be running a Snow Leopard Cub Name Donation Drive on its social media platforms from the 16th August until the 2nd September. The name that has the most votes will become the cub’s new name, with 100% of money donated going directly to the Snow Leopard Trust.

Chris Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of the Welsh Mountain Zoo commented: “It’s great to see the most recent addition to our Zoo family thriving, and we are thrilled to finally announce that the Snow Leopard cub is a boy. He is developing just as he should and is growing in confidence every day; venturing out and around both in public and behind the scenes in the Snow Leopard habitat, whilst staying close to mum.

“With confirmation of the cub’s sex, we’ve now chosen four wonderful and symbolic names for our new boy, including Zephyr meaning light/west wind; Tai Lung, meaning great dragon; Layan, representative of the Himalayas; and Qilian, translating to sky/mountain range. We understand and appreciate the excitement that our guests have around the newest addition to our Zoo family, and felt that this name donation drive would allow visitors to help us choose a great name whilst raising funds for the brilliant Snow Leopard Trust.”

The new arrival marks the first cub to be born at the Zoo for a decade, and the first also to be born to the newest Snow Leopard pairing (Sumbe and Padme) within the Silk Road habitat, completed in 2021.

The Zoo enjoys a rich history with Snow Leopards, a species which is classed by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable in the wild. Breeding in managed Zoo settings alongside the Zoo’s annual commitment to the Snow Leopard Trust is critical, helping to raise awareness of the pressures that wild Snow Leopard populations face whilst safeguarding the future conservation of this amazing animal.

For more information on the Snow Leopard Silk Road Project and the Welsh Mountain Zoo’s commitment to the Snow Leopard Trust click the following link - https://www.welshmountainzoo.org/silk-road-project