Scotland's Highland Wildlife Park is celebrating an early milestone for its rare snow leopard twins after the cubs underwent their first vet visit. During that exam, keepers learned the 8-week-old pair consists of one male and one female.
What happened?
Born in May to mother Pari and father Koshi, the twins were examined for the first time on July 22, according to CBS 19 News. In an Instagram reel, Highland Wildlife Park (@highlandwpark) revealed the twins have a "clean bill of health" after veterinarians checked their eyes and teeth, vaccinated them, weighed them, and microchipped them.
A staff member also said the team was "absolutely buzzing" about discovering they have a boy and a girl. The twins weighed in at 7.7 pounds apiece, or 3.5 kilograms, per CBS 19 News.
"Aren't they beautiful!" one Instagram user gushed.
Why does it matter?
A healthy birth is exciting news for any zoo, but it carries special significance when the animals are snow leopards. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are between 4,080 and 6,590 left in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
As top predators, snow leopards help maintain ecological balance. In 2017, the IUCN downlisted snow leopards from endangered to vulnerable.
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While getting to this point was a conservation victory, the IUCN also underscored the importance of continuing the work because the species "still faces a high risk of extinction through habitat loss and degradation, declines in prey, competition with livestock, persecution, and poaching for illegal wildlife trade."
What's being done?
Because the cubs are still reliant on their mother, staff are continuing to watch them closely, with the first exam serving as part of that care.
For the moment, the twins are spending most of their time in the den, but visitors could begin seeing them as they gradually move out to explore their habitat.
"They are becoming more confident every day and it is incredible to see them grow and develop," said Lucy Petrie, animal operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park, per CBS 19 News.
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