Mourning at Basel Zoo: Snow leopard dies unexpectedly

Only on June 19th, three snow leopards were born in Basel Zoo, two males and one female. The female Vaya and her two brothers Vakaris and Vishal proved to be surprisingly bold and showed themselves to the zoo audience after just six weeks. In the wild, snow leopards spend the first two months in their birth den. The mother of the cubs is Rangi (9), and the father is Mekong, also nine years old. The triplets are their second litter.

Now the zoo announced that Vaya, the female cub, died unexpectedly on August 23. The case also sheds light on the way zoo veterinarians treat young animals.

“As a rule, animal births at the zoo take place undisturbed, i.e. without veterinary support,” the zoo explained in a statement on Wednesday. After a birth, the veterinary team has responsible tasks to complete. The first examinations include gender identification, vaccination, deworming, implantation of a microchip and monitoring weight development. For these examinations, the young snow leopards were separated from their parents for a few minutes.

Veterinary access to young animals born in the zoo is not always possible. “A risk assessment is always carried out to determine whether a disturbance is justified, necessary from a veterinary perspective or simply impossible,” says the zoo.

In the case of the deceased snow leopard cub, a gait disorder of the hind limbs was found, which is not unusual in kittens in the first weeks of life. In Vaya’s case, however, there was most likely a malformation of the hip socket, known as hip dysplasia. This is suggested by the initial results of the investigation by the Bern Animal Pathology Department. The department is currently investigating the cause of Vaya’s death.

Vakarys, one of her brothers, was suffering from a watery and sticky right eye. After a minor procedure under anesthesia to tighten the lower eyelid, his symptoms are now subsiding.

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