Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia or Uncia uncia)
Characteristics:
Snow leopards have long, thick fur that is grayish or tawny yellow with the ventral areas being white. Dark rosettes cover their body and spots are seen on the head, legs, and tail. Although unusual for cats, pale green or gray eyes offset their coat. These cats are perfectly suited for their frozen world. Their small rounded ears and long fur aid in minimizing heat loss in their frigid habitat. Big paws also help distribute their weight over up to 33 inches of snow and a long thick tail can be used as a blanket for their face. In addition, their head possesses unusually large nasal cavities that enable it to breathe the cold, thin mountain air. Stocky cats with short legs, they can weigh between 60 and 130 lbs. Although the body from head to the base of its tails is only 30-50 inches long, their tails can be just as long as the body. Only the marbled cat has a longer tail. The snow leopard is known as Afghanistan’s national animal.
Habitat:
Alpine and sub-alpine areas (9,000–20,000 feet above sea level in summer and 4,000-7,000 feet above sea level in winter) in Central Asia in the countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and possibly Myanmar.
Snow leopards have long, thick fur that is grayish or tawny yellow with the ventral areas being white. Dark rosettes cover their body and spots are seen on the head, legs, and tail. Although unusual for cats, pale green or gray eyes offset their coat. These cats are perfectly suited for their frozen world. Their small rounded ears and long fur aid in minimizing heat loss in their frigid habitat. Big paws also help distribute their weight over up to 33 inches of snow and a long thick tail can be used as a blanket for their face. In addition, their head possesses unusually large nasal cavities that enable it to breathe the cold, thin mountain air. Stocky cats with short legs, they can weigh between 60 and 130 lbs. Although the body from head to the base of its tails is only 30-50 inches long, their tails can be just as long as the body. Only the marbled cat has a longer tail. The snow leopard is known as Afghanistan’s national animal.
Habitat:
Alpine and sub-alpine areas (9,000–20,000 feet above sea level in summer and 4,000-7,000 feet above sea level in winter) in Central Asia in the countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and possibly Myanmar.
Lifestyle:
Behavior:
Snow leopards are mostly solitary creatures except when raising cubs. They are also rather unconcerned if another snow leopard comes onto its territory and will not defend it aggressively. They are also crepuscular and are known to be very stealthy and well camouflaged.
Diet:
Like most cats, they eat whatever is available at that moment including carrion and livestock. They can kill almost any animal in their range, even animals three to four times as heavy as they are, except perhaps a full-grown male yak. However, they will readily eat small prey. Their main diet consists of goat and sheep-like creatures such as bharals and Siberian ibexes and their smaller prey may include rodents like hares and pike, and birds. Unlike most cats, however, they eat a lot of grasses and twigs. Snow leopards seem to be the least threat of any wild cat to attack a human. They are easily chased off and may not even retaliate if they are attacked.
Hunting:
They normally ambush their prey from above and chase it for a short distance. With a bite to the neck, they kill it and then eat all edible parts of the animal. Snow leopards can go up to two weeks after eating a bharal before needing to hunt again.
Reproduction:
Unlike other cats, snow leopards have a distinct cycle of mating in late winter and giving birth in late spring. Estrus is five to eight days and gestation is 90-100 days. The female snow leopard will give birth to 1-5 kittens, normally about two. Cubs are born with a thick layer of fur and are 10-20 oz. They can walk at five weeks and are fully weaned at ten weeks, although they will stay with their mother until between the age of one and two years old. They can reproduce at two to three years old and live normally 15-18 years in the wild and about 21 years in captivity.
Predators:
The snow leopard has no notable predators in its range.
Behavior:
Snow leopards are mostly solitary creatures except when raising cubs. They are also rather unconcerned if another snow leopard comes onto its territory and will not defend it aggressively. They are also crepuscular and are known to be very stealthy and well camouflaged.
Diet:
Like most cats, they eat whatever is available at that moment including carrion and livestock. They can kill almost any animal in their range, even animals three to four times as heavy as they are, except perhaps a full-grown male yak. However, they will readily eat small prey. Their main diet consists of goat and sheep-like creatures such as bharals and Siberian ibexes and their smaller prey may include rodents like hares and pike, and birds. Unlike most cats, however, they eat a lot of grasses and twigs. Snow leopards seem to be the least threat of any wild cat to attack a human. They are easily chased off and may not even retaliate if they are attacked.
Hunting:
They normally ambush their prey from above and chase it for a short distance. With a bite to the neck, they kill it and then eat all edible parts of the animal. Snow leopards can go up to two weeks after eating a bharal before needing to hunt again.
Reproduction:
Unlike other cats, snow leopards have a distinct cycle of mating in late winter and giving birth in late spring. Estrus is five to eight days and gestation is 90-100 days. The female snow leopard will give birth to 1-5 kittens, normally about two. Cubs are born with a thick layer of fur and are 10-20 oz. They can walk at five weeks and are fully weaned at ten weeks, although they will stay with their mother until between the age of one and two years old. They can reproduce at two to three years old and live normally 15-18 years in the wild and about 21 years in captivity.
Predators:
The snow leopard has no notable predators in its range.
Snow Leopard's Range
Subspecies:
Although there are generally two recognized subspecies, they are much disputed and some consider them invalid:
Uncia uncia uncia: Inhabits Central Asia north-eastwards to Mongolia and Russia
U. u. uncioides: Seen in Western China and the Himalayas
Conservation Status:
The IUCN Red List classifies the snow leopard as endangered. There are 4,500-7,300 snow leopards in the wild. Major reason for population decline is loss of habitat due to destruction.
Although there are generally two recognized subspecies, they are much disputed and some consider them invalid:
Uncia uncia uncia: Inhabits Central Asia north-eastwards to Mongolia and Russia
U. u. uncioides: Seen in Western China and the Himalayas
Conservation Status:
The IUCN Red List classifies the snow leopard as endangered. There are 4,500-7,300 snow leopards in the wild. Major reason for population decline is loss of habitat due to destruction.
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