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Snow leopard cubs venture out at Cape May Zoo

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE - Two baby snow leopards have stepped into the spotlight at a New Jersey zoo.

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE - Two baby snow leopards have stepped into the spotlight at a New Jersey zoo.

The cubs were born at the Cape May County Zoo on May 11, the first of their species to be born there.

The 2-month-old males had been mostly in seclusion with their mother, Himani, until this past week.

"Every day they get a little braver and a little more playful," said Alexander Ernst, a veterinarian at the zoo. "We're extremely happy with how well they're doing and how well their mother is taking care of them."

The spotted cubs have been nursing, but are starting to eat meat with their mother.

Their father, Vijay, has been at the zoo for five years.

The zoo is holding a contest in which children 12 and younger can pick names for the two cubs on the zoo's website.

There were only a few surviving litters of snow leopards born in North American zoos this year, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Eleven cubs were born in captivity last year.

The Cape May County Zoological Society, a nonprofit group that works with the zoo, is raising money to rebuild the snow leopard habitat, which was damaged by February snowstorms.