Non-AZA zoos with snow leopards?

T

TechnicalSkillz

Member
Does anyone know what zoos in the US and Canada outside of the AZA/CAZA and their SSPs have snow leopards? They appear to be very rare in the private sector, and I haven't found any small family-owned zoos with them, despite the fact that those zoos often have other big cats (tigers, lions, leopards). I did come across a few conservation-oriented facilities with snow leopards, e. g. EFBC or Cat Haven.
Also, if there are any regular, private (non-AZA) zoos that have them, does anyone know where they get these animals from? There doesn't seem to be a lot of breeding going on outside of programs like SSP and EEP.
 
Tanganyika Wildlife Park, in the state of Kansas, has approximately 15 snow leopards at any one time and several other non-AZA zoos have the species in their collections. However, snow leopards are not nearly as common as lions or tigers. On a road trip in 2014 I even saw loads of African/Amur leopards in several family-run zoos in states such as Minnesota and Wisconsin.
 
In California the Micke Grove Zoo (formerly AZA accredited and possibly will be again in the future) and Big Bear Alpine Zoo (building a new zoo that they want to be AZA accredited) have snow leopards.
 
TechnicalSkillz said:
Sounds interesting. Which zoos do you mean by "several other non-AZA zoos"?
Click to expand...

I spent a little bit of time researching the topic and here is a list of 8 non-AZA accredited zoos in North America that all have snow leopards. I'm sure that there might be a few others, as well as several big cat rescue sanctuaries, as there are 700 zoos and aquariums just in the USA and there is bound to be a few more places that could be added to this list.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Big Bear Alpine Zoo
Papanack Zoo
Niabi Zoo
Binghamton Zoo
Micke Grove Zoo
Alaska Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo (Manitowoc, Wisconsin)
 
Alaska Zoo currently houses a male Snow Leopard. A female was also held until recently. She passed away last year.
 
I'm just wondering where all those zoos get their snow leopards from. For the smaller municipal zoos, this probably isn'T an issue (I guess the AZA is ready to work with them), but what about the private, for-profit ones?
 
The Alaska Zoo's Snow Leopards (three different animals in the last 10 years) have all come from AZA facilities.
 
In Canada...

Safari Niagara held one until mid to late 2014. They were snow leopard sitting, Kota, for Toronto while the new snow leopard exhibit was built.

Jungle Cat World has two males Paki and Balek, unless either has died.

I dont know about any others.
 
If they still have them...the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Southern California have them and I have seen one at Siegfried & Roy's at the Mirage in Las Vegas. His name is/was Manchu. It's been awhile since I've been there and many of their animals are rotated around so it's sometimes hard to keep track of them.
 
My bad I missed the mention of not being in the CAZA too. Okay then I don't know about any in Canada.
 
The snow leopards at Cat Haven came from Tanganyika and I suspect they are the major supplier for non-AZA zoos (as well as many AZA zoos).

To add to the list, I think Great Cats World Park has one (though I am not positive).
 
The sister pair of snow leopards at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo came from the AZA accredited Woodland Park Zoo. Since birth they have both been blind in their right eye. Their website states

“Working with the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a collaborative effort to manage species populations across conservation zoos, Big Bear Alpine Zoo was chosen to be their new home that would fit Asha and Shanti’s unique needs. At Big Bear Alpine Zoo, which is known for its wildlife rehabilitation program, Asha and Shanti will be able to remain together and continue to receive specialized medical care.”

Snow Leopard » Big Bear Alpine Zoo
 
Anyone know where Tanganyika WP's snow leopards come from? That place has quite an interesting animal collection for a non-AZA zoo, including a group of Javan langurs among other species.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Anyone know where Tanganyika WP's snow leopards come from? That place has quite an interesting animal collection for a non-AZA zoo, including a group of Javan langurs among other species.
Click to expand...
I remember reading something on a thread here a few years ago. They said the founder was a former director of an AZA zoo (I think) and used his connections to build up a massive animal collection for breeding purposes. In addition to having over two dozen snow leopards at any given time, they have the same number of clouded leopards.
 
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