Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo Welcomes Snow Leopard Cub

The female cub, which has not yet been given a name, was born on July 6 at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Animal Collection Manager Deanna Debo handles the 2-week-old cub during its neonatal exam. Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The cub’s mother is named Helen, after pioneering conservationist Helen Freeman, the late founder of the Snow Leopard Trust. Helen and her cub are currently in an off-view maternity den to allow bonding and proper nursing in a quieter setting. Zoo staff watch the mother and cub through a closed-circuit monitoring system to watch for normal behaviors. The zoo anticipates putting the cub in the outdoor, on-view exhibit with her mother in late September. Woodland Park Zoo and the Snow Leopard Trust Helen Freeman’s interest in Snow Leopards began while she was a volunteer docent at the Woodland Park Zoo. The zoo acquired two Snow Leopards, named Nicholas and Alexandra, from the Soviet Union in 1972. Helen Freeman with her beloved snow leopards at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo: SLT Freeman eventually became the curator of education at the Woodland Park Zoo – a position she held when she founded the Snow Leopard Trust in 1981. Under Helen’s leadership, the Trust established […]