Posted by: Gigi Allianic, Communications
Snow leopard sisters Shanti and Asha, now 3½ months old, are proving to be playful and inquisitive cubs.
For now, the two live behind the scenes with their mother, Helen, where they receive special veterinary care for their impaired vision. Our keepers and vet staff assess the cubs’ visual function on a day-to-day basis as the pair grows and explores their environment.
The cubs were born with eye and eyelid defects, and each remains blind in the right eye. They recently went through another round of surgery, performed by Dr. Tom Sullivan, the zoo’s volunteer veterinary ophthalmologist with the Animal Eye Clinic, to correct their impaired vision. The procedure is a critical step toward a progressive, more permanent solution to create functional eyelids for the cubs.
We know you all can’t wait to see Shanti and Asha make their debut, and we hope to begin introducing them to the public exhibit over the next few weeks. We have been hard at work preparing the space for the cubs, cutting off tree branches at the eye level to ensure they can navigate their surroundings safely without getting injured.
We’ll be sure to announce here when the cubs are ready for an official debut to the public!
Snow leopard sisters Shanti and Asha, now 3½ months old, are proving to be playful and inquisitive cubs.
For now, the two live behind the scenes with their mother, Helen, where they receive special veterinary care for their impaired vision. Our keepers and vet staff assess the cubs’ visual function on a day-to-day basis as the pair grows and explores their environment.
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| Snow leopard cubs behind the scenes at Woodland Park Zoo. Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. |
The cubs were born with eye and eyelid defects, and each remains blind in the right eye. They recently went through another round of surgery, performed by Dr. Tom Sullivan, the zoo’s volunteer veterinary ophthalmologist with the Animal Eye Clinic, to correct their impaired vision. The procedure is a critical step toward a progressive, more permanent solution to create functional eyelids for the cubs.
 |
| Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. |
We know you all can’t wait to see Shanti and Asha make their debut, and we hope to begin introducing them to the public exhibit over the next few weeks. We have been hard at work preparing the space for the cubs, cutting off tree branches at the eye level to ensure they can navigate their surroundings safely without getting injured.
 |
| Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ. |
We’ll be sure to announce here when the cubs are ready for an official debut to the public!
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