What:
The newest addition to Woodland Park Zoo’s snow leopard exhibit
will make her official debut on Thurs., August 21 to kick off the zoo’s
upcoming Snow Leopard Day, August 23, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Helen,
a 3-year-old female snow leopard, makes her Woodland Park Zoo debut
on Thurs., August 21.
Photo: Tianna Klineburger |
Be
among the first to see Helen, a 3-year-old female snow leopard, new
to Seattle this summer from Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls. Named
for the late Helen Freeman (1932-2007), dedicated conservationist and
founder of the Snow Leopard Trust—a Woodland Park Zoo partner
for conservation—the feline will take some of her first steps
into the snow leopard exhibit. There Helen will be treated to special
enrichment from her keepers, designed to encourage natural, instinctual
behaviors.
When:
Snow leopard debut photo op: Thurs., August 21, 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Snow Leopard Day: Sat., August 23, 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Where:
Meet at the zoo’s North Entrance at N. 59th St. & Phinney Ave. N. Staff
will escort you to the snow leopard exhibit in Australasia. If late, enter through
North Entrance and proceed to the snow leopard exhibit on your own.
Info:
Helen joins Woodland Park Zoo’s snow leopard exhibit with
two other snow leopards—Tom, a 2-year-old male who joined the zoo
this spring from Los Angeles Zoo, and Nadia, a 14-year-old female. Tom
and Helen have been recommended for breeding under the Association of
Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP), designed to
manage the endangered snow leopard population in captivity.
About
Helen’s
name:
In the early 1970s, Helen Freeman began her career at Woodland Park
Zoo as a volunteer docent and returned to school at the University
of Washington
to complete a second degree in animal behavior. It was at this time
she found the second love of her life, the snow leopard. She spent
countless
hours studying this elusive cat and ultimately became one of the
world’s
foremost experts on the behavior of the captive snow leopard. Meanwhile
she took a job at the zoo and worked her way up to Curator of Education
in the early 1980s. In 1981 she founded the International Snow Leopard
Trust (ISLT). Under her guidance the ISLT pioneered new approaches
to snow leopard conservation and its habitat in Asia, placing local
peoples
at the center of the movement.
In
2008, the Snow Leopard Trust continued Freeman’s legacy by launching
the first ever long-term study of wild snow leopards, greatly advancing
knowledge of and conservation efforts for the elusive feline. With
programs and staff in key range countries, a global network of researchers
and
partnerships with local communities in the cats’ habitat, the
Snow Leopard Trust is leading the effort to ensure the mountains will
shelter
these cats for years to come.
About
Snow Leopard Day:
Snow Leopard Day celebrates this elusive, endangered wild animal
with cultural entertainment, zookeeper talks and enrichment for the
snow
leopards, face painting, crafts, conservation commerce and special
themed Zoomazium
programs for kids. Staff from the Snow Leopard Trust and Woodland
Park Zoo will be on hand to talk about partnership efforts to save
the endangered
snow leopard and how you can help.
For more information about the event or Woodland Park Zoo’s conservation
programs, visit www.zoo.org or call 206-548-2500.
Accredited
by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), award-winning Woodland
Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting
international standards for zoos all over the world. Conservation,
education and excellent animal care are at the core of the zoo’s
mission. The zoo is helping to save animals and their habitats in Washington
state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards,
red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon
silverspot butterflies. By inspiring people to care and act, Woodland
Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.
