Little snow leopard cub makes big debut at the Brookfield Zoo

BROOKFIELD, Ill. - An adorable 3-month-old snow leopard cub made her public debut at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois, after bonding with her mother behind the scenes.

Footage of cub Ahava and mother Malaya shows the pair exploring their enclosure. The zoo wrote in a press release, “Ahava appeared extremely inquisitive and began exploring her outdoor habitat, located along the zoo’s Big Cats walkway, as soon as she was given access to it.”

The zoo added: “Snow leopards are listed as a vulnerable species on the Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Snow Leopard Trust estimates there are from 3,500 to 7,000 of these elusive cats remaining in the wild.”