A beautiful male snow leopard, which appeared in the fantasy film ‘The Golden Compass’ a few years ago, (starred Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman) was recently rehoused at the Lakeland Wildlife Oasis at Hale in the UK.
Pavan, is one of two celebrity snow leopards that played the part of Stelmaria, Lord Asriel’s daemon or soul mate in the film. Along with the other cat, Pavesh, he was born and raised at the Cat Survival Trust in Welwyn, England.
Hopefully Pavan will breed in his new home. For visitors there is a large walk through acrylic tunnel in his enclosure where visitors can get up close and personal with Pavan. Here’s a video showing Dr Terry Moore, founder of The Cat Survival Trust and his team moving the cat along a noisy UK freeway. Pavan, who was not sedated, looked very calm.
Pavan’s move to Lakeland Wildlife Oasis from Jahled on Vimeo.
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Yay, a snow leopard celebrity! I loved this series by Phillip Pullman (His Dark Materials), and was enraptured by his use of a snow leopard as a main character’s daemon. The movie was good, but mostly I was happy that this book was turned into a film, and that a snow leopard was introduced to a younger audience that may not know of their existence. Thanks for sharing this video!
I agree Amber, kids seeing snow leopards in main stream movies helps educate them about these endangered cats and their fragile habitat. Not sure if there will be a followup to The Golden Compass, I think the company shelved the idea unfortunately.