Two snow leopards have given birth to five cubs at the Darjeeling zoo in West Bengal. The zoo officials have shared that the cubs are doing well and that it is the first time that a litter of five new cubs were born together at the zoological park.
Eleven-year-old mothers, Rare and Morning, gave birth in captivity a month ago, taking the population of snow leopards at the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling to 14. The park is known for its expertise in captive breeding of the rare big cat species.
Special care is being taken for the well-being of the cubs and their mothers. The zoo, set up in 1958, has also expertise in the conservation of rad panda, tibetan wolf, blue sheep, himalayan tahr, and crimson, horned pheasant.
As per the zoo authority, five snow leopards have never been born together. This is a first. The five cubs will be kept away from viewing by tourists for at least three months. The mothers along with the cubs were being given special care including vitamins. The amount of meat in their diet was also increased. The authorities are also doing round-the-clock surveillance of CCTV cameras.
Snow Leopards which are considered an endangered species were recently seen at the Kishtwar National Park of Jammu and Kashmir in a rare sighting using camera traps, an official statement by the Kishtwar High Altitude National Park said last Tuesday. The Wildlife Protection Department said that camera traps installed before the occurrence of snowfall in the National Park have retrieved multiple images of snow leopards.
