Photo: Toledo Zoo/Twitter
Say hello to Pasha and Yuki!
In June, thesnow leopardcubs — one male and one female — were born at theToledo Zoobut just received their sweet names after apublic vote.
Animal lovers decided between Nikita, Pasha, Pishka, Pelmeni, and Kovo for the male cub, and Inga, Polina, Yeva, Yuki, and Damira for the female cub. Pasha and Yuki received the most votes.
Pasha means “a man of high rank,” while Yuki translates to “happiness” or “snow.”
In an Instagram post, alongside a photo of the siblings, the zoo described the precious cubs as “bold and rambunctious.”
The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England, welcomed a snow leopard cub of their own in the same month. The male cub was born on Sept. 15 to parents Laila and Yarko as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free weekly newsletterto get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.
In a release, the Big Cat Sanctuary shared that they’re calling the new arrival “Little Cub” until a competition to choose a name for the big cat is complete.
“We are exceptionally proud to announce the birth of a snow leopard cub to Laila and Yarko at The Big Cat Sanctuary as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme,” Lynn Whitnall, a trustee for The Big Cat Sanctuary, said in the facility’s recent release. “We know that our ‘little cub’ will raise vital awareness and funds for her counterparts in the wild, and we will continue to support The Snow Leopard Trust out in the field.”
Snow leopards arecurrently listedas “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, with about 4,080 to 6,500 estimated to be living in the wild today.
“They are highly threatened in the wild due to poaching for their fur and the traditional medicine trade,” the Big Cat Sanctuary said in their release. “The breeding program will help boost the captive population of snow leopards which gives hope to this vulnerable species if they ever go extinct or critically endangered in the wild.”
source: people.com
