Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington Zoo has today welcomed two female snow leopards - Asha and Manju.
Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield told Morning Report she was proud of how the team made the new snow leopards feel at home at the zoo.
The snow leopards may look quite big but that was thanks to their fluffy coats, Fifield said - they are actually smaller than a lion or tiger.
Asha was the feisty one of the pair and Manju was incredible relaxed, she said.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
"They will love it, they will love our weather" - Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield
The $6 million habitat is purpose built.
"Being Wellington Zoo we have lots of lovely hills so we've been able to make use of the topography and they've got a fabulous hillside if you like... the leopards can sit up the top and see right out over the trees of the zoo."
The pair were used to the hot weather as they were born in Melbourne, Fifield said.
An environmental engineer was brought on board when the zoo was thinking about taking on the care of Asha and Manju, she said.
It was found there was only about 1 degree difference between their range state and Wellington temperatures.
"They will love it, they will love our weather...also we've made sure they've got lots of places in the habitat where they can go to cool off and we've got mist sprays and things like that for them to be able to cool down if the day does get hot."
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
An audio recording that plays while people view the snow leopards talks about how humans can help to protect these animals, including climate action, she said.
The pair were part of the breeding programme but whether they would eventually breed was down to the species coordinator.
Visitors can see the snow leopards from today.