Simplified: For the first time in more than 20 years, the Great Plains Zoo welcomed a snow leopard cub. It's just one of the surprise announcements unveiled Thursday night during Zoofari, the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium's (SFZA) fundraising event.
Wait, more surprises? Like what?
SFZA also announced an unprecedented reciprocal partnership with the San Diego Wildlife Alliance which will allow Sioux Falls zoo members free access to the San Diego Zoo and vice versa.
Additionally, SFZA announced that it'll break ground this fall on a butterfly garden at the Great Plains Zoo campus – the first of three phases to bring the Butterfly House and Aquarium to the zoo campus.
Tell me more about the new baby
The snow leopard cub was born to mom Denali and dad Strut on May 23. Denali joined the Great Plains Zoo in 2024 as a breeding recommendation with Strut, and both are first-time parents.
- Mom and baby are doing great behind-the-scenes in a private den, Animal Care Director Joel Locke said. The gender of the cub will be determined at a later vet checkup.
Snow leopards are a vulnerable species, meaning they face the risk of extinction in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which means each new cub born is a big deal when it comes to preserving the species long-term.
Tell me more about the reciprocity agreement
The new partnership with the San Diego Wildlife Alliance is thanks to philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, who has donated to both the Great Plains Zoo and the San Diego Zoo. Find more details here on the logistics of how to get complimentary access to the San Diego Zoo.
"We are thrilled to offer this special perk to our members," Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium CEO Becky DeWitz said.
Tell me more about the Butterfly Garden
The Butterfly Garden is the first of three phases funded by the zoo's ongoing "We Can't Wait" campaign. The ultimate goal is to also construct a new education center and a new aquarium attached to the Butterfly Garden.
- All of this work is part of the broader effort to bring Great Plains Zoo and the Butterfly House and Aquarium – now one organization under SFZA – together onto the same campus.
Here's a look at what that might look like:
What happens next?
The new little snow leopard cub will stay behind-the-scenes for now to grow and continue to bond with mom Denali.
The Butterfly Garden is expected to be completed in 2027.
