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Snow Leopard Information, Endangered Big Cat
Here you will find lots of Snow Leopard information and links to photos we have taken of Snow Leopards. You will also find Snow Leopard screensavers, Jigsaw puzzles and children's games featuring snow leopards.
Snow Leopard Facts:
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Snow Leopards have been categorized as an Endangered Species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) since 1972. |
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Snow Leopards are protected by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES). |
Physical Characteristics:
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A snow leopard has white to smokey-gray fur tinged with yellow and patterned with dark-gray to black rosettes and spots |
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A Snow Leopard has long body hair with dense, wooly belly fur (up to 12 cm. in length) |
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The Snow Leopard is medium to large-sized relative to other big cats, weighing 35-55 kilos/77-121 lbs., about 60 cm. at the shoulder, and 1.8-2.3 meters from head to tail. |
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A Snow Leopard has short forelimbs and long hind limbs provide increased agility in the steep and rugged mountainous habitat it occupies. |
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A Snow Leopard has really large paws help them walk on snow. (like snow shoes help humans walk in the snow) |
| The Snow Leopard has an extremely long long, thick, furry tail (almost a meter in length) which helps in balancing, and is used to wrap around body and face for added warmth while resting. |
| The Snow Leopard has a well-developed chest and enlarged nasal cavity which are adaptations to the cold thin air of their high altitude homes. |
| Snow Leopards, unlike other big cats, cannot roar. They do not have the skeletal feature that supports the base of the tongue that lets the other big cats roar. |
| Except during breeding season or while raising cubs, Snow Leopards live alone. |
Communication:
| Snow Leopards communicate in several ways. |
| Snow Leopards communicate by scraping dirt with their back paws. |
| They spray over hanging rocks and ledges. |
| The mark with their feces. |
| They also use sounds to communicate. |
Habitat:
| Snow leopards live in the mountains of Central Asia in the countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (Recent research shows that they have already disappeared from some areas within this range) |
| Snow Leopards live in a harsh, remote habitat that includes steep, broken mountainous regions (elevation between 3000-5000 meters in the Himalaya; 900-3000 meters in Mongolia and Russia) in alpine and sub-alpine zones where vegetation is sparse. |
| Snow leopards show a strong preference for cliffy habitat with moderately to very broken terrain, rocky outcrops and ravines, as opposed to open smooth slopes and densely forested areas |
Behavior and Reproduction:
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A Snow Leopard can leap thirty feet. |
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A Snow Leopard can take prey three times his weight. |
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The Snow Leopard is so stealthy, it is rarely ever seen. |
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Snow Leopards are extremely shy. Even if they are cornered they will try to hide rather than attack. I have been unable to find any recorded incidents of Snow Leopard attacks on humans. |
| The snow leopard is most active at dawn and dusk (crepuscular activity pattern) - although may be active through much of the day in areas with very few people, or become nocturnal where disturbed. |
| Mating occurs between January and mid-March, a period of intensified marking and vocalization. |
| Estrus (when snow leopards are in heat) lasts 2-12 days. |
| Gestation period (the time between conception and birth) is 90-103 days. Cubs are born in late spring or early summer. |
| Litter size is usually 2-3; very rarely up to even 6 snow leopard cubs. |
| The first several days of a cub's life may be spent restricted to inaccessible and hidden den-sites. |
| Snow Leopard cubs become independent of their mothers at 18-22 months of age, becoming sexually mature at 2-3 years. |
Prey:
| A snow leopard is able to kill prey three times its weight; the two most common large prey are: |
| Blue sheep or bharal (Pseudois nayaur) of the Himalaya and Tibet |
| Asiatic ibex (Capra ibex), a wild goat found throughout the major mountain ranges of central Asia |
| Snow leopards kill a large animal twice monthly on average. |
| Small prey include marmot, pika, hares, other small rodents, and game birds like the Tibetan snowcock and chukor partridge. |
| Snow leopards will take livestock (such as sheep, goats, horses, or young yaks) when their natural prey becomes unavailable due to competition with livestock, hunting/poaching, or other causes. |
| These cats eat slowly and remain on the kill for several days, protecting it from scavengers such as vultures or ravens until all meat is consumed. |
| In some areas, notable amounts of plant material are consumed, particularly during mating season perhaps to meet specific nutritional needs. |
| Snow Leopards stalk their prey with great skills of stealth. They get as close as possible to their prey by hiding in the rocks and ledges. They often attack from above, landing on the back of ther prey and biting their neck. |
Population:
| An estimated 3,500-6,000 Snow Leopards left in the wild |
| There approximately 600-700 Snow Leopards in zoos around the world |
| Listed on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered, the same classification as the panda and the tiger |
| Protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which makes trafficking live cats, fur, or body parts illegal in signatory countries |
Threats:
| Lifespan of the snow leopard is estimated at 10-12 years in the wild. Along with natural dangers the snow leopard faces serious threats brought on by humans |
| Poaching – hunting and the sale of snow leopard beautiful fur, bones, and body parts for the fur trade and for use in traditional Asian medicine |
| Loss of prey – depletion of the natural prey base due to competition with livestock and from humans hunting wild mountain sheep and goats for trophies and food |
| Retaliatory killing and conflict with herders. Due to reductions in natural prey, snow leopards resort to killing livestock; herders retaliate by trapping, poisoning, or shooting them (rapidly becoming one of the most important conservation issues related to large predators) |
| Degradation, loss, and fragmentation of habitat occurs when humans push ever further into mountainous areas, particularly to graze livestock |
| Lack of awareness – the livelihood of local people depends on their livestock, which can make them reluctant to support the conservation of large predators like the snow leopard; park management and law enforcement is weak; protected areas often lack trained personnel or are so poorly funded that poaching by staff is becoming common |
More Snow Leopard Pages
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Snow Leopards photos Set 1: 13 photos |
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Snow Leopards photos Set 2: 13 photos |
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Snow Leopards photos Set 3: 13 photos |
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Snow Leopards photos Set 4: 13 photos |
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Snow Leopards photos Set 5: 12 photos |
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Snow Leopards photos Set 6: 12 photos |
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Snow Leopards photos Set 7: 12 photos |
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Snow Leopard, Endangered Big Cat Index of Photo Galleries |
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