Let It Snow! (Leopards, That Is)
December 24, 2014
Eight-month-old Snow Leopard twins, ‘Okara’ and ‘Orya’, are practicing their big cat skills, at Zoo Zurich.
Photo Credits: Zoo Zurich/ Peter Bolliger (Images 1,2,3,4,11,12) ; Emmanuel Keller (Images 5,6,7,8,9,10)
The sisters are also quite skillful at testing the patience and fortitude of 14-year-old mom, ‘Dshamilja’, and 11-year-old father, ‘Villy’.
The Snow Leopard is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is currently listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. As of 2003, there were only estimated to be a global population of 4,080 to 6,590 adults, of which fewer than 2,500 may reproduce in the wild. There are approximately 600 Snow Leopards in zoos around the world.
**You can see more of Emmanuel Keller's amazing photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/
More pics below the fold!