Minnesota Zoo takes in Blizzard and Snow, orphaned puma cub brothers

Two pumas have found themselves as one of the newest additions to the Minnesota Zoo after being orphaned in Washington.

According to the Minnesota Zoo, Blizzard, Snow and another cub were first discovered miles away from Minnesota by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in November 2024 without their mother.

At just six months old, the brothers were orphaned before they were able to learn critical survival skills from their mother, such as hunting and how to care for themselves.

It was determined by wildlife officials that the trio wouldn’t be able to be rehabilitated and returned to the wild, requiring them to be moved to a forever home.

The Minnesota Zoo was contacted and asked to make two of the brothers ambassadors of their species, a request the zoo happily fulfilled.

The zoo took in two of the cubs, naming them Blizzard and Snow, while the third cub will live in another zoo with a separate cub of similar age.

After spending their first several weeks behind closed doors at the zoo, the duo was first put on display Monday at the zoo.

“It’s a wonderful responsibility and a joy to offer a new beginning to Blizzard and Snow after their rescue,” Bree Barney, Curator of the Minnesota and Tropics Trail, said. “All of us look forward to seeing them grow and thrive here in Minnesota.”

The addition of the cubs will also help fill a void left by the deaths of two previous Puma rescues, Landslide and Sequim, who lived at the zoo for seven years before both died in 2024.

Pumas are a rare sight in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The species, also referred to as mountain lions and cougars, is not believed to have a breeding population in the state but was native to the area before European settlement.

You can learn more about pumas from the Minnesota DNR.