Highland Wildlife Park’s newest additions, three adorable and rare snow leopards have been named.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has announced the names of the trio as Padme, Maya and Yashin.
Each cub has been named in honour of their native Himalayan habitat, with Padme for a female meaning lotus flower and the male Yashin meaning lightening bolt.
Both names were chosen by the wildlife conservation charity’s donors, while the third cub, Maya, also a female, was named after Buddha’s mother after a public vote.
The three cubs were born on May 28, to proud parents Koshi and Animesh, who had previously given birth to a litter of cubs in 2019.
Snow leopards are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list, so the addition of three cubs is a huge step for the species.
Highland Wildlife Park has welcomed several new youngsters to their growing family, including a polar bear cub, Brodie, and a trio of tiger cubs, Nishka, Layla and Aleksander.
Keith Gilchrist, living collections manager at Highland Wildlife Park said: “Like all the animals in our care, our snow leopards play an important role in attracting and engaging thousands of visitors each year so they can learn about the threats animals face in the wild and the action they can take to help.
“Their power to connect people with nature and encourage behaviour change is invaluable.”
“Now protected throughout much of their native range, snow leopard populations are still threatened due to a decline in available prey and conflict with local farmers.”
Conversation