Snow Leopard Appreciation Weekend at Chattanooga Zoo

The Chattanooga Zoo is doing its part to bring more snow leopards into the world.

The beautiful and elusive creature, found in the rugged mountains of Central and South Asia, is endangered. According to snowleopard.orghttp://snowleopard.org, only 4,000 to 6,500 snow leopards are known to exist in the wild.

Hannah Hammon, director of marketing and communications at the zoo, says educating the community about these animals has been a priority since the 2006 opening of the Himalayan Passage, which houses the snow leopards, a favorite of visitors.

“Snow leopards are among our most popular animals at the zoo,” Hammon says.

The zoo’s history with snow leopards also includes two successful breedings.

“A female was born to parents Czar and Kasimir in 2011, and the Species Survival Plan recommended breeding the pair again,” Hammon says. ‘(Kasimir) gave birth to twins in 2012. The Chattanooga Zoo now houses another SSP-recommended breeding pair, Callie and Tankh.”

Accredited zoos and aquariums across the country take part in the Species Survival Plan, a management and conservation program for selected endangered species. Chattanooga Zoo currently participates in 25 SSP programs.

Snow Leopard Appreciation Weekend, which will take place Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 23-24, was created to educate and bring awareness about the species, Hammon says.

“We will have snow leopard keeper chats and animal enrichment, educational opportunities to learn about the snow leopards that live here at the zoo and how we work to conserve these animals in the wild,” she says, noting there will also be games, crafts and other activities for children.

Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.