Oldest snow leopard in British zoo dies

Pav, who was 19, also appeared in the 2007 film the Golden Compass

A snow leopard, which was the oldest living in captivity in Britain, has died.

Pavan, known as Pav, was put "peacefully to sleep" after progressive age-related illnesses, Lakeland Wildlife Oasis confirmed.

The 19-year-old big cat raised three cubs at the zoo near Milnthorpe, Cumbria, with his partner Tara - who passed away in February - with a legacy of eight grand cubs and three great-grand cubs.

Director Jo Marsden said Pav, who had appeared in the 2007 film The Golden Compass with his brother before arriving in 2011, was "their favourite animal".

She said Pav had created a "major bloodline" for the breeding programme, "doing his bit" to save the species from extinction.

"He was the oldest snow leopard in Britain and the third oldest worldwide," she said. "He was never aggressive. He was just nice and really relaxed about everything."

Pav bred three cubs with his partner Tara

Talking about his film role, Mrs Marsden said: "He green screened with the stars, he wasn't there physically with them all but he was such a confident and competent animal."

She said Pav was "not the smartest animal" but had kept keepers and visitors entertained.

"I remember when we were feeding him some mince and he got some stuck on his nose and he kept looking up at the ceiling, wondering what the smell was," she said.

"We have many lovely memories of Pav and we will all really miss him."

Tara and Pavan joined the zoo in 2011 and are said to have contributed significantly to the breed

Pav's DNA has been donated to cryogenic preservation charity Nature's Safe, which aims to help save snow leopards from extinction.

Mrs Marsden said Pav's enclosure would temporarily be turned into a Lynx enclosure, as it welcomed the animals on loan from Edinburgh Zoo.

There are hopes the zoo will welcome more snow leopards next year.

"We are hoping some cubs will be ready to come to us. The zoo feels very different without Pav," she said.

Snow leopards are classified as vulnerable and on the red list of threatened animals due to loss of habitat, climate change, poaching and human-wildlife conflict.

The cats are native to the mountains of Central Asia.

According to the Snow Leopard Trust, their habitat range covers around the size of Greenland and Mexico, despite there only being between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild.