Snow Leopard Cubs Are Right At Home At The Stone Zoo In Stoneham

STONEHAM (CBS) - Two sisters, Pandora and Naphisa, are the new stars at the Stone Zoo.

The snow leopard cubs had quite the following on Saturday, with their kitten antics fascinating everyone. Visitors could not get enough of them.

"They're really cool, and they're really cute," said Anthony Enos.

The Paige family did not want to miss out.

"We wanted to get here as fast as we could," said Jonathan Paige.

"Before they grow up," said Marge Paige.

At almost 4 months old, each cub weighs around 15 pounds.

"It was great when they first went on exhibit. They were too big for their paws, so they didn't even know how to walk around. It was really cute," said Marc Novig.

The cubs' mother, Kira, keeps watch over the pair, as do the zookeepers who consider them their babies too. Their father resides in a separate enclosure for safety reasons.

"They were climbing a lot higher than we intended to at the start," said Bridget Collins-Lyman, senior zoo keeper.

Zoo keepers have only been able to handle the cubs a couple of times. Even though they look nice and cute and cuddly, they have sharp teeth and long claws. Their wild side doesn't stop fans from dreaming.

Seven-year old Abby Paige was in love.

"I want to take them home. I don't know if my house cat would like that though," she said.

For the next two years, the cubs will grow up at the zoo. It will then be determined which zoo they call home to have their own babies, as part of the effort help build the snow leopard population. There are only about 6,000 in the mountainous regions of central Asia.

The Stoneham zoo has a goal with promoting all this cuteness.

"Convert how adorable they think these animals are into action and maybe try to do something conservation-wise to help these guys," said Collins-Lyman.

Right now, the sisters are providing plenty of inspiration.

"Definitely makes your day," said Anne Starr, who visited the cubs on Saturday.