North Rhine-Westphalia: Two snow leopards are born in Krefeld

Krefeld (dpa / lnw) - Two rare snow leopards were born in the zoo in Krefeld.

North Rhine-Westphalia: Two snow leopards are born in Krefeld

Krefeld (dpa / lnw) - Two rare snow leopards were born in the zoo in Krefeld. The little cats don't have names yet, because the gender can't be determined with certainty. The zoo announced on Thursday that it was probably two females.

The two snow leopards were born on July 11 and now weigh almost four kilos. At the moment, visitors to the zoo can only see them with a lot of luck. They live with their mother in a shielded part of the enclosure. "However, the little ones are becoming more curious from day to day and then also conquer the front part of the facility," wrote the zoo. For her parents Patan and Dari it is the fourth time that they have had offspring at Krefeld Zoo.

Snow leopards, which live in the wild in the high mountains of Central Asia, are considered highly endangered. Mainly due to illegal hunting, the population was decimated to a total of just over 6,000 animals. In addition, their habitat is becoming smaller and smaller due to climate change, it said.