Ziva and Nuri
Last year our beautiful snow leopard pair, Ziva and Nuri moved into their brand new home, near the Pavilion Restaurant. Here you can find out more about the pair, how they are getting on in their new pad and when the best times to spot them are:
Liam Shepheard, Head of Carnivore Section at Howletts Wild Animal Park said:
Ziva (Female) was born at Banham Zoo on 22.05.10. Her favourite food is shoulder of horse!
Nuri (male) was born at Cologne Zoo on 29.05.12. His favourite hobby is stalking the bison in the paddock opposite him and anyone on a bicycle!
Nuri is generally really quite inquisitive when it comes to any keeper activity around his enclosure and will always come over to say hello when we are working around his house. He will rub up and down the mesh and vocalise to us in what we think is a friendly way but we are careful not to be suckered in by his charm as he has it in him to turn very quickly! He is generally the shy one out of the pair when it comes to seeing him out in the open- top part of their enclosure. He much prefers surveying his territory (and the visitors) on the platforms in the shut off and generally comes out later on in the afternoon when it quietens down.
Ziva is much more focused on food than any friendly interactions with the keepers. She’ll happily take a chunk of horse from anyone but once that’s gone she will get impatient pretty quickly. She is a lovely cat though, and both are firm favourites with the team and anyone who’s lucky enough to get up close and personal to them.
If you see one of the snow leopards out patrolling in the morning or later on in the afternoon, chances are it will be her. She spends a lot more time out in the open-top part of the enclosure than the male and seems to be a lot more willing to have her photo taken perched up on the high platform.
She is first to react to any of the keepers turning up and is always on the lookout for her next meal!
