Meet Our New Snow Leopard, Grace

The Buffalo Zoo welcomes Grace, an adult female snow leopard to their collection.

Grace was born at the Zoo Boise on May 23, 2013. She arrived in Buffalo from the Binghamton Zoo in December and is now ready to explore her new exhibit space. She will be out in the Zoo’s vanishing animals exhibit daily.

She was brought to Buffalo on a breeding recommendation from the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for snow leopards in Zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). After she has some time to grow accustomed to her new home, Grace will be introduced to Dwaine, the Zoo’s male snow leopard.

Grace the Snow Leopard. Photo credit: Kelly Ann Brown/Buffalo Zoo

Snow leopards are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Their numbers have decreased drastically in the wild, mostly as a result of habit loss and poaching.

The Buffalo Zoo contributes to the Snow Leopard Trust, an organization working to protect the snow leopards’ natural habitat in Central Asia. Anyone who wants to help save snow leopards in the wild can visit snowleopard.org to learn more.

The mission of an AZA Species Survival Plan® (SSP) Program is to cooperatively manage specific, and typically threatened or endangered, species population within AZA-accredited Zoos and Aquariums, Certified Related Facilities, and Sustainability Partners. For more information, visit https://www.aza.org/species-survival-plan-program/.

For updates about Grace, or the Zoo’s other animal residents, visit www.BuffaloZoo.org, or the Zoo’s Facebook page.