Chester Zoo welcomes its first ever snow leopard cub
Hidden cameras have caught a glimpse of the adorable cub
Last updated 24th Jul 2025
The first ever snow leopard cub to be born at Chester Zoo in its 94 year history has been caught on camera!
The cub, since arriving to first-time parents Nubra and Yashin in June 2025, has been spending quiet time in a cosy den with mum.
The zoo's carnivore experts say Nubra is showing 'excellent maternal instincts' by nursing her baby every few houes and always staying close by - apart from when leaving the den momentarily to feed!
Nubra and Yashin were carefully matched in 2024 as part of an international conservation breeding programme to make sure of a healthy population for the highly endangered species in the world's leading zoos.
Dave Hall, Team Manager of carnivores at Chester Zoo, said:
"This is the first snow leopard cub to be born at Chester Zoo. It’s a truly historic moment and a real cause for celebration - not just for our teams here but also for the future of this magnificent species globally.
"The cub is now just six-weeks-old AND it’s still really early days, but new mum Nubra has taken to motherhood brilliantly and is showing excellent maternal instincts. This is her first cub and she’s doing an exceptional job of caring for her little one - feeding regularly and staying snuggled away in a cosy, behind-the-scenes den, where the pair has been quietly bonding and getting to know one another. Since the cub was born our carnivore team has kept the den area nice and peaceful and stayed well away, instead using CCTV cameras to monitor the cub’s development.
"It’s just fantastic to see the cub growing stronger and more confident each day. What’s really exciting is that it could decide to follow mum Nubra outside at any moment to start exploring the outside world."
Snow leopards are classed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a few as 4,000 now remaining in the wild.
They are under threat from habitat loss, climate change, poaching, and retaliatory killings by farmers as they prey on livestock.
Dr Mayukh Chatterjee, Regional Field Programme Manager for Asia at Chester Zoo, said:
"While this birth is a significant moment for snow leopard conservation, our work to help this species thrive extends far beyond our zoo. We’re working alongside The Snow Leopard Trust and communities in countries like Kyrgyzstan to protect snow leopards in the wild, while also improving livelihoods for people who live alongside them.
"By doing this we’re helping to reduce human-wildlife conflict by developing sustainable, snow leopard-friendly alternatives to livestock farming - reducing retaliatory killings, which is one of their main threats, and instead promoting peaceful coexistence. It’s an approach that’s already seen success in other areas of the world, and we’re confident we can bring positive change to both people and snow leopards alike.
"The birth of a cub here in Chester, alongside our conservation work in the wild, is a powerful symbol of what we can achieve together to help these iconic big cats thrive long into the future."
Zookeepers say they will confirm the sex of the cub at a later date, once it has undergone its first health check-up with zoo vets.