Endangered snow leopards arrive at New Zealand zoo

New Zealand’s Snow Leopard population is at two, as Wellington Zoo officially welcomed the two females. Members of a vulnerable species, Asha and Manju, are both three years old and originally from Melbourne Zoo, in Australia, where they were born through an international scientific breeding programme.

They were delivered to the more suitable setting in New Zealand, where they will live in a purpose built enclosure, worth 6 million New Zealand dollars, and a climate more in keeping with the climate they usually live in. There're no more than seven thousand snow leopards left in the wild, due to habitat loss, poaching, and climate change.Visitors can see the snow leopards from Wednesday.