Snow Leopard Cub Born At MI Zoo

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A snow leopard cub was born at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids last week.

The zoo's snow leopard, Yuki, gave birth to a cub last Monday. They are both doing well, zoo officials said.

"For now, they’ll remain behind the scenes while they bond and grow stronger, but don’t worry, we’ll be sharing updates (and some serious cuteness) soon," zoo officials said.

Officials said the birth is a "big win" for the Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP) and an important step in helping protect this vulnerable species.

The happy news also comes just after the zoo lost a 9-month-old snow leopard, who was battling an illness.

Mera, who was also born to Yuki, died in March.

"Mera showed signs of discomfort, and when she didn’t improve with medications, we took her off-site for a CT scan and ultrasound," the zoo said. "Ultimately an exploratory surgery was needed to find the root cause, which led to the discovery of abnormalities in her urinary system. Unfortunately, it was determined this issue could not be surgically repaired, and we had to make a very difficult decision to humanely euthanize her."