Two snow leopard sisters, Asha and Manju, have arrived at their new home at Wellington Zoo.
"It's amazing to finally have them here, it feels really surreal," said Wellington Zoo's carnivore keeper, Holly McDonald.
Members of a vulnerable species, Asha and Manju are both three years old and originally from Melbourne Zoo, where they were born through an international scientific breeding programme.
Today, they arrived at their new $6 million habitat, which took 18 months to build.
Wellington Zoo's Chris Jerram was in charge of building the habitat, which faced multiple setbacks due to the weather.
"We had some pretty significant slips on site, and it's a really challenging site in the first place," Jerram said.
Snow leopards can endure incredibly low temperatures because their fur is up to five centimetres thick, keeping them well insulated. Wellington's weather provides them with an ideal climate.
"Wellington is kind of perfect, very changeable weather here. We get all sorts of seasons in one day," Holly McDonald said.
Fewer than 7000 snow leopards are left in the wild, due to habitat loss, poaching and climate change.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has classified the species as vulnerable.
"Asher and Manju are ambassadors for this species. They play an invaluable role in connecting our community with them and understanding those issues so we can protect them in the wild," Holly McDonald said.
Visitors at Wellington Zoo will be able to see Asher and Manju from tomorrow, Wednesday April 12.
SHARE ME