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This snow leopard cutie (that I use as my avatar) lives in Darjeeling in India at the zoo. Normally I don’t like seeing animals caged in zoos, but here they have a snow leopard breeding program. The species was nearing extinction until they started this program. They have had much success over the years. I was lucky enough to visit the zoo in March 2007. By chance we met up with the Supervisor of animals who offered to show us around the breeding centre which is closed to the public. What a wonderful day that turned into. I was delighted to get so close to these beautiful creatures. I even managed to stroke this fellow through the bars. The fur was exquisitely soft. He was a frisky fellow.

The mother, Neeta, was a real poser. As we walked around her enclosure she kept moving and posing for our photos. I will post some photos of her at some stage too. But this cub stole my heart completely. I am full of admiration for those who are ensuring these lovely creatures survive. I was so impressed by the love and devotion that the supervisor showed for the animals in his care. He was also a wonderful artist and gave us copies of his pen and ink sketches of the leopards and also red pandas. I treasure those pictures. I have no way to contact him or I’d ask permission to post them here.

If ever you are in Darjeeling, don’t miss out on a visit to this zoo - even if, like me, you don’t normally like zoos. It was a highlight of my entire stay in the area. I’d go so far as to say one of the highlights of my life to date.