The Chester Zoo in England is celebrating a milestone: the birth of a rare snow leopard, the first to be born at the zoo in their 94 year history. The cub was born in May and has been growing and bonding with first-time mom Nubra behind the scenes. Fans have been enjoying watching the cub’s progress under Nubra’s attentive care through the zoo’s live den cam. And at the end of August, the cub was deemed grown enough to take her first outdoor trip, coinciding with the zoo’s announcement that the contest for choosing the cub’s new name had also concluded.
“Bheri” is the name was chosen from thousands of suggestions submitted by the public. After an extensive review by the zoo’s staff of all of the contest submissions, they agreed that naming the cub for a Nepalese river that runs through the Himalayas would be the perfect fit, honoring the mountainous region that snow leopards inhabit.
As for Bheri, she seemed to be quite taken with this new outdoor experience, one that she lept right into with self-assurance, following in Nubra’s footsteps (pawsteps?) as they scrambled over rocks and playfully nuzzled. Chester Zoo’s Assistant Team Manager of Carnivores Rachael Boatwright was pleased to report that Bheri is “already so full of confidence and character as she playfully explores her new surroundings.”
Snow leopards are listed as “vulnerable to extinction” on the ICUN red list. There are only about 4,000 snow leopards left in the wild, endangered by habitat loss, climate change, hunting and human conflict. As such, Bheri’s birth is an important win for the zoo and their participation in the European endangered species breeding program. This project works towards building a healthy and genetically diverse population of the rare big cats across Europe. The zoo also participates in the Snow Leopard Trust and supports initiatives in communities in Kyrgyzstan that aim to reduce human-wildlife conflict, protect habitats and create sustainable livelihoods for the local population that benefit both animals and humans.
The source for today’s gif is below.
Chester Zoo: “Snow leopard cub that captured the hears of millions named” 8/28/25
BBC/CBBC Newsround: “Rare snow leopard cub gets a name” 8/29/25
Bheri beautiful.
What beautiful cats! Mother and child, it never gets tired!