In these strange and fragile times, where we are increasingly forced to consider the limits of humanity's timeline, it's important that we sometimes cast our minds toward things that are extraordinarily cute.
This summer, a new snow leopard cub was born at the Bronx Zoo. And this week, she made her debut to the city, at four months old: a compact, 16-pound cub with giant paws, a belly of gray-white fluff, back spotted like an albino snake, and a slightly clumsy gait.
The zoo named her Sarka, which is Nepali for shark. (How delightful to name a cat after a fish!)
On Wednesday, the zoo released a video of the cub, who you can now see at the "Himalayan Highlands" enclosure, that I believe even a staunch dog-lover would enjoy. Sarka is seen scampering over the manmade mountain range, her giant paws propelling her from rock to rock. In one shot, she crouches to pounce on her mom, Dari, from above. Dari, unfazed, lumbers up and licks her cub's neck.