Snow leopard cubs set to make their debut at Toronto Zoo

Two snow leopard cubs will make their public debut at the Toronto Zoo this weekend.

The zoo says visitors will be able to see Zoya and Minu in their outdoor habitat between about 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The cubs were born on May 13 at the zoo and have been living with their mother Jita since then.

Until now, the cubs lived indoors, as they received vaccines and staff made necessary modifications to make their outdoor habitat safe and secure.

The zoo says it is time for the little ones to spend more time exploring outside as they are growing older. Following their debut this weekend, the cubs will be viewable in the enclosure with their mother on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, the zoo said in a post on X.

Pemba, the father of the cubs, will be viewable on the other days. 

The snow leopard is considered a vulnerable species, and the World Wildlife Fund estimates only 4,000 to 6,500 individuals remain in the wild.

Including Zoya and Minu, 16 snow leopards have been born at the Toronto Zoo over the years. The majority of those cubs then moved to other accredited zoos across North America as part of the snow leopard species survival plan.

"These latest two — they're rambunctious, they're really curious, and they're amazing to watch," Dolf Dejong, CEO of the Toronto Zoo, told CBC News Friday. 

The last time the Toronto Zoo welcomed new snow leopard cubs was in 2017, when three cubs were born amid a boom of births that included two clouded leopard cubs and five cheetah cubs. One of the three snow leopard cubs later died of pneumonia.