BioPark Zoo’s older snow leopard, Azeo, dies
At almost 20 years old, he was very friendly, social and ‘a happy cat’
Unlike most snow leopards, who are elusive and solitary, the ABQ BioPark Zoo’s, Azeo, was quite the opposite.
“Azeo was very gentle with the female leopards, and he really enjoyed being with them,” zoo manager Lynn Tupa said.
“Snow leopards generally come together just for breeding, but he just loved sitting next to his mates and spending the day with them,” first Kachina and, after her death, Sarani.
Azeo was also extremely interactive with the staff, Tupa said. “We could walk along the catwalk in front of his exhibit, and he would always spot you out of the crowd, no matter how many people were there. And he would come down to the front of the mesh to chase
and play.”
He could even recognize regular visitors and interact with them, she said.
Azeo, who would have turned 20 in May, was found dead in his outdoor exhibit space Thursday. A necropsy was conducted, and the results are pending.
Snow leopards usually live 10 to 12 years in the wild and 14 to 15 years in captivity. Despite Azeo’s advanced age, he seemed to be in good health, and his death was unexpected, Tupa said.
“He hadn’t been sick at all. There were some age-related changes to his body but no signs of illness,” she said. “He was a happy cat, so it was shock to everybody to find that he had died.”
Azeo, she said, had “personality and was majestic,” making him a favorite of staff and zoo visitors.
More than 100 people left comments on the zoo’s Facebook page, expressing their sorrow for Azeo’s passing. Many of them posted photos they had taken of the big cat.
“Condolences to his keepers and other zoo staff,” one person wrote.
“He was gorgeous. I will miss his face,” another said.
“RIP you certainly kept the snow leopard population alive.”
Azeo was certainly “prolific,” Tupa said. He sired 12 cubs with Kachina and another two with Sarani.
Kachina died in 2017 at age 14 of an inoperable tumor in her neck and throat.
The zoo has three snow leopards remaining. In addition to Sarani, there are Kalish, born in 2019 to Azeo and Sarani, and Dash, born in 2018 at another institution and being cared for at the BioPark Zoo because of a condition that resulted in blindness.
“We’re committed to providing him the best possible life we can,” Tupa said.
The zoo, she said, anticipates getting more snow leopards, possibly even before the completion of the Asia habitat, construction on which will begin this summer.