The only Slovak snow leopard - our Hima

Hima belongs to the endangered species of snow leopards. She was 11 years old, when she got into our care and she is the only one of her kind in Slovakia. Her life hasn't been very good, unfortunately. She was kept in harsh conditions for a long time in a swiss private breeding station. From there she went to a private Zoo in Austria, where she gave birth to kittens and when she became redundant, she was brought to a private breeding station in Slovakia. After some years, we came across her and now she can finally enjoy a happy life. At the beginning, when she got us, she refused food and she was curled up in a corner for over a week. It took her a long time to adapt to the environment, but she got more confident with time. She's made a considerable progress and she is much more lively then she was when she came to us.

To spot a snow leopard in the wild is very difficult, since these animals are solitary. Their population has been shrunk due to poaching so much, that they are now on the list of endangered species. It's difficult to estimate how many snow leopards are left. The estimations are around 3500 to 7000 individuals.

They occur in the mountains of Central Asia. They prefer mountain regions and steppes, rocky scrubs and opened coniferous forests that are 3000 to 4500 m above the sea level.

Snow leopards prefer life on the mountain crests and reefs, they can be found in places that are 3500 m above the sea level. In the summer they can even climb higher, even to the 5000 m above the sea level, in order to cool down. The snow leopard can jump through 15 m from one rock reef to another, which makes him an even a better jumper than the kangaroo. He uses his long fuzzy tail when jumping, as a kind of a steering wheel.

At the beginning of July 2021, at the age of 17, our rare snow leopard, our Hima, left us. A few months ago she was diagnosed with cancer and also weakened kidney function.
Due to her age, we did not expect great miracles, but we are glad that we were able to prolong her life for a while.
Unfortunately, she became less and less active until she stopped cooperating completely and left behind the rainbow bridge to the animal's nostrils.
It will forever remain in our ❤️
Thanks to everyone for their support, especially to her adoptive parents.