We would like to invite you to join us in celebrating the life of our amazing Snow Leopard, Pavan, who was peacefully put to sleep surrounded by his devoted animal keepers.
We would like to invite you to join us in celebrating the life of our amazing Snow Leopard, Pavan, who was peacefully put to sleep surrounded by his devoted animal keepers.
Pav had recently been contending with progressive age-related illnesses, and after extensive consultation between our veterinary and animal care teams, the kindest decision was to put Pav to sleep.
Pavan had lived a full life, at 19.5 years old he lived to be the oldest snow leopard in Europe. Together with his partner, Tara, Pav successfully raised 3 cubs - with a legacy of 8 grandcubs and 3 great-grandcubs all living in zoos across Europe. Together, they created a legacy of a major bloodline for the breeding programme and did their bit to save their species from extinction.
Pav's DNA has been donated to Nature's Safe for cryogenic preservation, further helping to save snow leopards from extinction.
Whilst it hurts to say goodbye, Pav's legacy will live forever. He truly won over the hearts of many, since he first joined us back in 2011 and he will be missed by us all.
This does mean we do not currently have any snow leopards at the zoo. However this is not forever.
Our snow leopard enclosure is currently occupied by Eurasian Lynx so dont forget to visit them.