Visitors to Chester Zoo have enjoyed watching the leading conservationist’s recent addition, a snow leopard cub, taking her first steps. After recently finding out that the cub is female, the zoo has now given the little feline her official name, “Bheri”.
The naming follows thousands of imaginative suggestions from the Chester charity’s supporters. Bheri is named after the Nepal river that courses its way through the Himalayas. It is designed to pay homage to the mountainous wilderness that the snow leopards call home.
Assistant Team Manager for Chester Zoo’s Carnivores team, Rachael Boatwright, commented:
“Bheri is the very first snow leopard cub to be born at Chester Zoo, part of the European endangered species breeding programme – a vital effort to protect and safeguard a healthy population of these incredible big cats.”
Known as “ghosts of the mountain”, snow leopards are classed as a vulnerable species. Today, approximately only 4,000 prowl their natural habitat, so births like Bheri’s bring much-needed hope for the future.
Behri is the offspring of first-time parents Yashin and Nubra. The new cub won the hearts of people all over the world when the zoo shared footage captured in her den. Now, she can be seen with her mum exploring the zoo’s impressive Himalayan habitat.
The award-winning enclosure opened last year, and was skilfully designed to perfectly recreate the mountainous, rocky terrain of the Himalayas. It boasts more than 600 tonnes of rock and scree and features ledges, cliffs, outcrops and air-cooled caves to support the mental and physical wellbeing of the snow leopard family.