Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Known throughout the world for its beautiful fur and elusive behavior, the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is found in the rugged mountains of Central Asia. Snow leopards are perfectly adapted to the cold, barren landscape of their high-altitude home, but human threats have created an uncertain future for the cats.
The snow leopard sports excellent camouflage thanks to its grey-white fur with its dark spots and rosettes. A fur fit for extremely cold temperatures. Photo: Alexander Oehrle. Its extra long tail helps the cat keep its balance and provides extra warmth when it’s wrapped around the body.
Male snow leopards become sexually mature by age 4. In captivity, snow leopards have been known to live for as long as 22 years. Life in the wild is much harder, so the life expectancy of wild snow leopards is more likely to be 10 to 12 years.
Snow leopards are shy, elusive cats known for their solitary nature. These cats are most active at dawn and dusk, which is called a “crepuscular activity pattern” by scientists. Snow leopards regularly patrol home ranges that can cover hundreds of square kilometers.
Snow leopards live in the mountains of Central Asia. While their habitat range covers 2 million km2 (approximately the size of Greenland or Mexico), there are only between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild.
The three most important prey species for snow leopards are the blue sheep (also known as bharal), the Asiatic ibex (a large wild goat), and the argali (another wild sheep species). Availability of wild prey is the most important factor that determines if an area can be suitable for the cats.
Snow leopards have evolved to primarily eat large-bodied animals. But as opportunistic predators, they will also kill and eat smaller animals, such as marmots, as this research camera photo shows.
The first wild snow leopard cubs ever discovered in their den. Photo: Snow Leopard Trust. Female snow leopards will be ready to have cubs of their own when they are two or three years old – so soon after they leave their family behind, they’ll start their own.
The Snow Leopard Trust offers a variety of engaging activities for download to help with learning and for fun! Students in grades K-8 will fall in love with these beautiful cats and love learning about their remarkable adaptations, importance to the food web, and interactions with humans sharing their habitat.
The Tibetan plateau, home to more than half of the remaining snow leopards, has already gotten 3 degrees warmer in the last 20 years. The changes impact the entire ecosystem: vegetation, water supplies, animals – and they threaten to make up to a third of the snow leopard’s habitat unusable.