Lucky zoogoers got the first public glimpse of Aibek, Woodland Park Zoo's 2 1/2-month-old snow leopard cub, Tuesday.
Over the next few weeks, Aibek will be in the outdoor exhibit from noon to 3:00 p.m. daily. Whether a visitor will see Aibek will largely depend on where he chooses to be in the exhibit, so viewing may be limited as he adjusts to his new home.
Aibek, which is Kyrgyzstani for "long living,” was born July 6 and is the first baby of mom Helen and dad Dhirin.
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the high mountain ranges of Central Asia and Russia. According to the Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, the population of these endangered big cats in the wild is estimated to be between 3,920 and 6,390.
Woodland Park Zoo has been caring for snow leopards since the zoo's first snow leopards arrived in 1972 from the USSR.
