Red carpet for rare snow leopard cub

WASHINGTON - Washington diplomatic circles were abuzz yesterday with the imminent arrival of a new foreign dignitary - an orphaned snow leopard from Pakistan.

One of only a few thousand of the endangered species left in the wild, the 13-month-old cub was rescued by a shepherd in northern Pakistan a year ago after his mother was killed. He was due to arrive at New York's Bronx Zoo today.

The shepherd who found the cub in Naltar Valley in Pakistan's Karakoram Mountains sheltered him in his home and later his grain shed before contacting the World Wildlife Fund.

That set off a long string of diplomatic exchanges to find the cub a home.

He will stay at the Bronx Zoo until a facility that can care for snow leopards can be built in Pakistan, with the help of the US Government and the Wildlife Conservation Society which runs the Bronx Zoo.

Snow leopards, which are hunted for their fur, are some of the most endangered mammals in the world. Only between 3500 and 7000 are thought to be left in the mountains of Central Asia.

- REUTERS