John Ball Zoo announces the passing of its female snow lion

Elsie, the John Ball Zoo snow leopard passed this week. She was 18 years old and considered the oldest living snow leopard in human care. (John Ball Zoo)

Today, John Ball Zoo announced the passing of Elsie, the zoo’s female snow leopard.

At 18 years old, Elsie was among the oldest known snow leopards in human care. Last week her health began failing and she was diagnosed with advanced kidney failure. Dr. Colburn, his team, and our zoo’s animal care staff worked hard to evaluate her condition, give a variety of treatments, and provide her as much comfort as possible. Unfortunately, kidney failure is common in older snow leopards, and given Elsie’s lack of response to treatment, her prognosis, and age, the difficult decision was made to humanely euthanize Elsie.

Elsie was born on June 25, 2003. She joined the John Ball Zoo family in November of 2017 from Iowa. Elsie was a beautiful snow leopard that never missed out on an afternoon nap. She will be greatly missed.

Snow leopards are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List, with an estimated wild population of less than 10,000 mature adults. At JBZ, we participate in the snow leopard Species Survival Plan (SSP) and are partners of the Snow Leopard Trust.

This is the second animal death at the zoo this summer. The zoo’s Canadian Lynx, Norrie, passed after after a hard-fought battle with cancer.