SNOW LEOPARDS IN AUSTRALIA
AND NEW ZEALAND

Population at 30 March 2003 8(4.4.)
population at 11 September 2003 11 - (5.6.) population at 31 December 2004 10 - (5.5.)

Melbourne Zoo was the first Zoo in Australia to breed the snow leopard. Their original pair, Lakh and Kashi, arrived at the zoo in 1983. In 1985 their first cub, a female called Kalmia was born. The second litter didn't survive and of their third litter, the female, Shimbu, is still at the zoo. The current male is Gregor, born at the Woodlands Park Zoo in the Us in 1991. Unfortunately this pair are unlikely to breed as Gregor has low sperm motility.
In mid August both Melbourne and Taronga zoos imported new snow leopards into the region. Melbourne received a female, Meo from Wilhema Zoo in Germany and will later be joined by another male. Meo, one year old at the time of the transfer was handraised as her motherdied when she was young. Successful integration into the Wilhemla group means the Meo has develpoed good snow leopard social skills

A pair of cubs were born at Mogo Zoo on the 20th October 1999. The male and female cubs were the first to be born in the region in a decade. They are especially important as they were conceived naturally. The breeding pair are Manga about 15 years old and was born in Australia, probably Melbourne Zoo,and Lena who came from Helsinki Zoo.

Mogo Zoo has taken in the two snow leopards, Prafula and Omaha from Taronga Zoo.

Two cubs were born on the 12th October 2003 and are the second litter for parents Manga and Lena. The zoo has named the female Tenzin and the male Kumbar. This is only the second birth of snow leopards n the region in 15 years. Prafula died in 2004 from a urinary tract infection.

Shiva and Bhutan are the sister and brother leopards that were born at the Mogo Zoo. The National Zoo will be seeking a male so as to breed.

Taronga Zoos pair were both born in the US. The male, Prafula, was born at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, while the female, Omaha, was born at Omaha Zoo, Nebraska. When the zoo obtained the pair, Omaha was too young to breed. To prevent this the zoo placed her on contraceptives for a few years. Unfortunately the science of contraceptives was still young and by the time the zoo was ready to breed her it appeared that her ovaries or eggs had been damaged by the drugs.
This pair were recently moved to Mogo Zoo, (August 2003) to make way for a new pair. A male, Leon came from Nindorf Zoo in Germany and the female, Samarra from Mulhouse Zoo in France. .