New Turf for Snow Leopards

With WCS Chairman Ward W. Woods (left), Allison and Leonard Stern hold a ceremonial shovel. © WCS/Julie Larsen Maher

Snow leopards will soon have a new pad in Manhattan, at the Central Park Zoo. The Allison Maher Stern Snow Leopard Exhibit, expected to open in spring of 2009, was made possible by a $7 million leadership gift to the WCS Gateways to Conservation campaign by Allison and Leonard Stern.

The new exhibit will replicate the scrubby evergreen forests in the mountainous region of Central Asia, where the highly endangered snow leopard lives. Zoo visitors will be able to go nose-to-nose with the big cats and see them perching on rocks and boulders. Hot and cool rocks for winter and summer will create a comfortable environment for these high-altitude animals, and ledges and other behavioral enrichment features will encourage them to pounce and play.

Situated between the Temperate Territory and Polar Circle, the exhibit will offer a unique opportunity to bridge the conservation issues facing wildlife in both biomes. An interpretive program will address the role of people in protecting snow leopards and the efforts of WCS to conserve these magnificent cats in the wild. 

The Wildlife Conservation Society is one of the world’s leaders in snow leopard conservation through programs both in New York and in the wild. In 1903, the Bronx Zoo became the first zoo in the Western Hemisphere to exhibit these big cats. Nearly 80 cubs have been born at the Zoo over three decades as part of the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program. Many of the offspring have been sent to live at zoos across the U.S. and beyond. In the early 1970s, renowned WCS explorer Dr. George Schaller conducted seminal studies of snow leopards in the Himalayas. Today, WCS field scientists are working with colleagues to identify the sites across the cat’s remaining range that are most critical for its survival.

Allison and Leonard Stern are long-standing friends and supporters of WCS. Mrs. Stern became a docent at the Central Park Zoo in 1988 and has been a WCS Trustee since 1992. She is currently Vice Chair of the WCS Board. The exhibit is a tribute to the outstanding public-private partnership that supports the Society and the commitment and vision of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City Speaker Christine Quinn, Members of the New York City Council, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and colleagues at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

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