Bloomington zoo leads breeding initiative for snow leopards

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois zoo is heading a program that breeds snow leopards as part of the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan, which was created after the leopard population began declining in the 1970s.

Since 2008, Jay Tetzloff of Bloomington's Miller Park Zoo has been leading the charge of the program that breeds snow leopards in nearly 70 North American zoos, The Pantograph (http://bit.ly/2sqdJHF) reported.

"We manage every snow leopard that is in North Ameria," said Tetzloff. "We make decisions on where they go, who breeds with whom. We are basically the expert on that species."

Snow leopards are among three species survival plans that the Bloomington zoo manages for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

"You are seeing zoos today that have a higher purpose to educate visitors on the plight of the animals that they are seeing as well as how they can take action to engage in conservation," said AZA spokesman Rob Vernon.

Miller Park is the only zoo in the U.S. to have snow leopard cubs born in consecutive years.

Tetzloff said there are fewer than 7,000 left in the wild in Central Asia, including the Indian Himalayas.

"Do I wish animals were in the wild? Absolutely. Will I ever see a snow leopard in the wild? Probably not," said Tetzloff.