WINNIPEG - October 27, 2008 – Winnipeg’s Zoo is in the forefront of an international effort to save the highly endangered Snow Leopard – one of nature’s most-beautiful and fascinating species. The Zoo has maintained Snow Leopards for 41 years, during which time it has recorded 26 surviving births, remarkable considering this species is often challenging to breed in captivity. Assiniboine Park Zoo’s recent pair showed exceptional compatibility for a solitary species, producing 16 offspring.  The male, Dmitri, died last year at age 21, holding the record for reproducing at the advanced age of 19. A healthy captive population in zoos around the world is essential to ensuring the production of animals which can be released into protected areas in the future.

Assiniboine Park Zoo has sent offspring to a number of Canadian zoos, to Alaska, Argentina, Czech Republic and to England, and is presently in the process of sending another specimen to Mogo Zoo in Australia – a recommendation from the Snow Leopard Species Survival Program. This week a new breeding male arrives from Calgary, hopefully to sire many cubs with new partner Lhassa. The Assiniboine Park Zoo has also contributed to the International Snow Leopard Fund, which is conserving this species in its native mountain home in 11 countries of Central Asia. There are fewer than 3500 Snow leopards surviving in the wild and numbers are declining rapidly from illegal hunting, shooting to defend livestock, loss of habitat and prey, and lack of policy and protective measures to protect this great cat.