Snow leopard known for her 7 healthy cubs dies after cancer
FILE – In this July 15, 2010, file photo, two snow leopard cubs born two months earlier stand next to their mother, Himani, at the entrance to their den at the Cape May County Zoo in Cape May Court House, N.J. Himani, who gained national attention for giving birth to seven cubs, has died at 17 years old, the zoo said Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. Himani, who reared four litters of cubs at a time when snow leopard breeding success was at a low point, was “peacefully euthanized following a battle with cancer” on Friday, according to a press release from Cape May County. (Dale Gerhard/The Press of Atlantic City via AP, File)
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CAPE MAY COUNTY, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey zoo says a snow leopard that gained national attention for giving birth to seven cubs has died at 17 years old.
A county press release says Himani was “peacefully euthanized following a battle with cancer” on Friday.
The Press of Atlantic City reports that the leopard reared four litters of cubs at a time when snow leopard breeding success was at a low point.
Himani was born in June 2003 and came to the Cape May County Zoo in 2009 from the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee.
Dr. Alex Ernst, associate veterinarian at the Zoo, says her contributions to the conservation of her species are “immeasurable.”
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