The Metro Richmond Zoo is excited to announce the birth of two female Snow leopards, Sasha and Kira. They were born to parents Elsa and Nitro on April 28, 2024, after a 3-month gestation period.
Sasha and Kira were born inside a private den where they spent their first few months bonding with Mom and growing stronger. At the beginning of August, they were old enough to begin exploring their outside habitat. Now, Elsa and her cubs can be viewed on exhibit (currently on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays), providing zoo guests with an educational opportunity to watch Snow leopard cubs grow.
Snow leopard cubs are born helpless and with their eyes closed. They depend completely on their mother for care and protection. Snow leopard fathers are not involved in the rearing of young. Cubs open their eyes around 7 days old and start crawling/walking around 3 to 4 weeks. In the wild, Snow leopard cubs will not venture from their den until they are 2 to 4 months old.
At 5 days old, Sasha and Kira had a neonatal exam. Our veterinary team checked their sex and general physical condition. The cubs each weighed a healthy 1.5 pounds. Since then, they have had 3 more checkups for weigh-ins, deworming, and essential vaccinations. During their most recent exam at 14 weeks old, they each weighed 12.5 pounds.
This is Elsa and Nitro’s 5th litter. Elsa is an experienced mother and very protective of her cubs. Sasha and Kira love to play, climb, jump, stalk, and wrestle together. They have endless energy! Kira is more adventurous and climbs the platforms, while Sasha is shy but super sassy. The cubs still nurse from mom and have begun to eat meat.
A perk of having two cubs is that they entertain each other which gives Elsa more personal time – a motherhood luxury she hasn’t enjoyed in a while since her last 3 litters have all been single cubs. We use “personal time” very loosely here because she’s still a new mother to rambunctious twins. 😉
The Snow leopard is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. They are native to the mountain ranges of Central & Southeast Asia. Snow leopard population estimates are difficult because of the leopard’s elusiveness which has earned them the nickname “ghosts of the mountains” by natives. Best estimates place the wild population between 3,000 and 6,000 individuals.
The Metro Richmond Zoo participates with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) species survival plan (SSP) for Snow leopards to help protect this magnificent cat. When the cubs are ready to live independently, they are transferred to other accredited facilities in the US based on pairing recommendations. One of Elsa’s previous cubs in another state has now had two litters of her own, making Elsa and Nitro grandparents. Elsa and Nitro continue to have a positive genetic impact on their species’ population which is declining in the wild.
