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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2006-08-10, 15:16

More on the young snow leopard flying to America:

Quote:
Originally Posted by msnbc
He will eventually be returned to northern Pakistan, where a snow leopard rehabilitation facility will be set up to help him transfer back into the wild.

The cub was handed over in a ceremony Tuesday in Islamabad, attended by Environment Minister Malik Amin Aslam and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who joked that the leopard had a "nonimmigrant visa" and could return to its homeland.

Patrick Thomas, curator of mammals at Bronx Zoo, said it would probably take three or four years before Leo and a female leopard would produce offspring. He said the zoo could send a female leopard back with Leo when he returns to Pakistan.

I got a chance to pat a baby clouded(?) leopard at a wild animal park a few years ago. All the visitors had to wash their hands carefully before patting. You'd think his coat would be soft, but the fur is very wiry, even on a young cub. I was surprised. He was a cutie.

I like that the cub in the news eventually will be returned to Pakistan with a mate, and will be reintroduced to the wild. I wonder how his mom and littermates died in the first place?
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