Friday Night Soother
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| Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is proud to announce the birth of two Snow Leopard cubs |
When they were one month old, the male and female cubs weighed just over five pounds. The cubs’ parents are Rosemary and Pasha. Rosemary is 5-years-old, weighs approximately 78 pounds, and has lived at the Zoo since 2015. Pasha is 10-years-old, weighs approximately 106 pounds, and arrived at the Zoo in 2012.
Dad can currently be seen by guests in the Asian Highlands exhibit. This pair also had a cub named Victoria in 2017. Victoria recently went to live at the Binder Park Zoo near Battle Creek, Michigan.
Snow Leopards are listed as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. There are only an estimated 2,700 – 3,300 Snow Leopards left in the world. The main threats facing them include loss of habitat, retaliatory killing from predation on livestock, and illegal trade in furs, bones and other body parts.
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is a dedicated member of the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program that works to maintain a genetically stable assurance population of Snow Leopards in zoos. Research conducted by the Zoo’s nutrition and reproductive physiology departments has provided valuable information to the Snow Leopard SSP that is helping to improve the care and management of these amazing cats around the world.
In addition to efforts taking place on Zoo grounds, Omaha’s Zoo and Aquarium supports the Snow Leopard Trust, an organization working out in the field within Snow Leopard habitat. Snow Leopard Trust focuses primarily on community education directed toward improving the relationships between herders and big cats by creating incentives for the community to protect Snow Leopards and their ecosystem. To learn more about Snow Leopard Trust’s mission, visit: www.snowleopard.org
If I lived in Omaha, I would get myself a six-pack of these:
Through the use of traditional ingredients (bitter orange peel, chamomile and coriander), Snow Leopard Wit combines floral and spice aromas with bright citrus to create a delicately balanced wheat ale…
Proceeds generated from Snow Leopard Wit will directly support the Zoo’s conservation efforts to help Mongolia’s population of snow leopards, an endangered species to be part of Asian Highlands opening at the Zoo in May. Specifically, proceeds from the brew will help support the development of snow leopard protected areas to reduce poaching, mining and unsustainable land development.
Cheers!
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And thank you so much for reading and supporting my work all these years. I am truly grateful. — d
