Best snow leopard exhibits?

Journeymaven

Journeymaven

Member
Hi
I'm doing some research on the best snow leopard exhibits in zoos worldwide and have already found many due to the great discussions on this forum - thanks for that.

But was wondering if anyone knew of some publications, resources that compared them? Thanks for any help in advance.

I'm really keen to advocate better exhibits for these animals that in the wild roam many km every day.
 
Journeymaven said:
I'm really keen to advocate better exhibits for these animals that in the wild roam many km every day.
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This sentence is a bit of a give away as to where you are coming from!:rolleyes:

Try to bear in mind that many animals "in the wild roam many km every day" because the poor beggars HAVE to in order to survive! Given the opportunity, most are perfectly happy to reduce their roaming. Good zoos give them the opportunity.

Having said that, Australian zoos house Snow Leopards in facilities ranging [in my opinion only] from excellent to poor. For an excellent example, check out Taronga Zoo's exhibit.

You may find international facilities described in great detail in Zoolex.
 
I know a zoo which has a really poor snow-leopard enclosure, Welsh mountain zoo, i feel so sorry for them
 
I don't know of any publications--sorry. I know a lot of people think the best US exhibit is Bronx. The Cincinnati exhibit is just sad. I can't recall many more places I've seen snow leopards though.
 
The exhibit for snow leopards in Nordens Ark, Sweden is fantastic! It is an actual fenced-in mountain side with pine trees and lots of rocks and other foliage. The one in Kolmården Zoo (also Sweden) is also quite good.

Other good exhibits that I have seen include Nürnberg Zoo and Cologne Zoo.
 
The snow leopard exhibit at Zurich is very good. Have a look in the gallery at zoolex for an overview.
 
Best snow leopard exhibits were already discussed eg. on this thread:
http://www.zoochat.com/2/best-exhibits-13340/

Best exhibits in Europe are:
- Zurich
- Luneburger Heide
- Kolmarden
- Rostock
- Basel
They are enclosed by a wire fence or moat. No wire roof. This gives animals much more space. And they keep old trees, forest herbs, rocks etc. which were before on the site.
 
Cologne has also a great exhibit for snowleopards. Altough they are very new, opened in 1991 and 1998, the snow leoaprds exhibits at Berlin Animal Park and Stuttgart Zoo are unbelivable bad.Stuttgart has probably the most worse exhibit for that species in germany.
 
Steve Robinson said:
This sentence is a bit of a give away as to where you are coming from!:rolleyes:

Try to bear in mind that many animals "in the wild roam many km every day" because the poor beggars HAVE to in order to survive! Given the opportunity, most are perfectly happy to reduce their roaming. Good zoos give them the opportunity.

Having said that, Australian zoos house Snow Leopards in facilities ranging [in my opinion only] from excellent to poor. For an excellent example, check out Taronga Zoo's exhibit.

You may find international facilities described in great detail in Zoolex.
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Steve, I've seen the snow leopard enclosures at Melbourne, Taronga and Canberra. Melbourne's three cages aren't particularly evocative of the Himalayas but are of a reasonable (though not spectacular) size, and offer the moderate climbing opportunities that seem appropriate for snow leopards. Taronga's enclosure had a nice steep gradient and the bare rock is vaguely reminiscent of an upper montane environment, but seemed too small for the three cats that were in there. Canberra was on the small side as well, but the snow leopards were very hard to spot - probably to the delight of the cats and the frustration of visitors like me. I haven't seen Mogo's enclosure.

I'm curious to know how you would rank the four enclosures in order? Also - how would snow leopards go in Queensland? Very hot temperatures do occur in the south-eastern zoos currently holding them... but how would they cope with humidity, do you think?
 
I was last a Mogo 3-4 years ago when they had the most recent SL cubs. The whole family was together in a very small area - usually of course the male is not with the new family all the time. Currently the two new cubs at Melb Zoo (born Dec 08) are with their mother and father is next door.

As you point out there are a few variables that would make a good exhibit - I think size definitely has to be one. But how big is big enough I don't know, that's one of the things I'm wanting to research. certainly terrain, ledge, heights etc are very important and as you also pointed out, areas where the cats can get away into some peace and quiet.

I wondered about temperature too - melbourne had some horrendous days this summer. I know zoo staff were doing lots of hosing and providing shade, ice etc.

Zurich Zoo seems to be the most extensive and enriching exhibit I've seen so far (only on the web, not been there.)Looks quite amazing.

Today Norfolk Zoo, UK announced a brand new SL exhibit too. The article doesn't mention size but features - "More than 200 tons of granite and York stone have been brought in, together with sand and gravel, to give big cats Rocky and Enif an enclosure with elements of natural features they might encounter in the wild. These include 'rock faces', an alpine-like stream, and nooks, crannies and ledges. "

see article at - Norfolk's big cats get a new home - EDP24
 
CGSwans said:
I'm curious to know how you would rank the four enclosures in order? Also - how would snow leopards go in Queensland? Very hot temperatures do occur in the south-eastern zoos currently holding them... but how would they cope with humidity, do you think?
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Personal opinions only:

Taronga - only 2 cats in there last time I saw it. Loved the height and the stonework.

Canberra - almost ranked equal to Taronga. More hiding spots, but less height in relation to the viewing public.

Melbourne

Mogo

Generally speaking, Snow Leopards would not cope well with coastal humidity - even in coastal southern Queensland.

They are a species of interest to us here on the Darling Downs because of our elevation and resultant lower humidity.
 
Steve Robinson said:
Generally speaking, Snow Leopards would not cope well with coastal humidity - even in coastal southern Queensland.

They are a species of interest to us here on the Darling Downs because of our elevation and resultant lower humidity.
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So basically, only an option for Singapore or Australia Zoo, for example, with an indoors air-conditioned enclosure?

How is it that the polar bears appear to bear up well (pardon the pun) on the Gold Coast? Does being semi-aquatic make the difference, do you think?
 
Once again, only my personal viewpoint - keeping Snow Leopards [or Polar Bears] in any tropical climate, such as the ones that you have mentioned, would require very expensive, climate modified habitats.

Polar Bears are a drawcard species, so the Sea World bean counters would have crunched the numbers and decided that the massive expense necessary to exhibit a species that is not locally recommended would be more than offset by the increased visitation that they would attract. They constructed a magnificent habitat for Polar Bears as a result. Yes - the fact that they are semi-aquatic helps to keep them relatively comfortable on the Gold Coast, but so does the addition of mist sprays etc in their habitat. I can't see Sea World spending that sort of money on Snow Leopards! They just don't have the drawing power that the Bears do.

It is easier to keep animals warm in a zoo than it is to keep them cool.
 
tigertiger said:
I don't know of any publications--sorry. I know a lot of people think the best US exhibit is Bronx. The Cincinnati exhibit is just sad. I can't recall many more places I've seen snow leopards though.
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These were the exact words that came to mind when I saw this thread.
Cincinnati's mesh cages on the side of the cat house are painfully smalll and the indoor accomodations are tiny, even smaller than some of the enclosures for small felines in the building. Hopefully when they expand the cat compound in the near future the snow leopards will get some nicer digs.

Bronx is just amazing.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
These were the exact words that came to mind when I saw this thread.
Cincinnati's mesh cages on the side of the cat house are painfully smalll and the indoor accomodations are tiny, even smaller than some of the enclosures for small felines in the building. Hopefully when they expand the cat compound in the near future the snow leopards will get some nicer digs.

Bronx is just amazing.
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Cincy doesn't keep them inside anymore (I'm assuming they used to?). Their lone snow leopard lives in that outdoor hell hole.


Who else in the US keeps them?
 
tigertiger said:
Who else in the US keeps them?
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There are actually quite a few US Zoos with snow leopard, but in terms of exhibit, they have gotten a bad deal. None of the large, extensive designs that more popular tigers have gotten. I presume this is largely due to the need to enclose the top of a snow leopard exhibit to keep them from getting out. Cincinnati, Denver and San Antonio are all horrific and need to be demolished immediately.

Colorado Springs opened a new one last year, better than what they had, but not by much. It is still way too small and totally unacceptable for a newly-built exhibit at an AZA institution. San Diego is not very good either, part of their outdated cat canyon, but it does have lots of boulders for climbing and hiding.

There are no truly spectacular exhibits in US, none like the Zurich one that looks amazing from photos, but here's a few I've seen that are not bad. (Not great, but not bad). Bronx Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Houston Zoo, Big Cat Rescue, Philadelphia Zoo (alternated on exhibit with amur leopard). Salt Lake City may be pretty good, but I haven't been there. Bronx Zoo's sister facility, Central Park Zoo, is opening one later this year which we all assume will be nice.
 
I forgot to add Memphis Zoo, which has them in a circular path of ten different cat exhibits. All of them are decent and for true cat lovers, Memphis is a very worthwhile trip.
 
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