Snow Leopard Cub Makes His Debut to the Public at the Bronx Zoo

Leo, an orphaned snow leopard rescued from a mountain peak in northern Pakistan and brought to the Bronx Zoo, has fathered his first cub, who has made his debut to the public. The black-spotted cub was born in April to Maya, a snow leopard brought in from Illinois to mate with Leo. In 2006, the Pakistani government allowed the Wildlife Conservation Society to send Leo to the Bronx Zoo, which is considered a world leader in snow leopard care. The Bronx Zoo has fostered 70 births of the highly endangered big cats — more than any other North American zoo. "Not only is the cub a milestone in Leo's personal story," said Patrick Thomas, the Bronx Zoo’s associate director, "but it serves as a unifying symbol that people of different cultures can celebrate."