The snow leopard lives rocky mountain sides, shrublands, grasslands and alpine plateaus at altitudes of about 9,000 to 12,000 feet. Today they are only found in the countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Many of the areas where the snow leopard used to live, they have become extinct.
The snow leopard is actually more closely related to the cheetah than to the leopard, oddly enough. They both have rounded skulls, long legs, large tails, and the inability to roar. However unlike cheetahs this is not because of the lack of a bone in the neck. Scientists are unsure of why the snow leopard doesn’t roar. The snow leopard’s coat is very thick to keep it warm. In the winter it is white while in the summer it is yellow gray. Like many of the big cats it has dark rosettes. Adult snow leopards weight between 80 and 175 pounds and are 39-51 inches long with a 31-39 inch tail.
Wild sheep and goats make up most of the snow leopard’s diet although it varies by season and by region. They also eat ibex, deer, pikas, marmots, domestic animals, large birds (such as peasant and ptarmigan, musk ox, wild boar, hares and rodents. Snow leopards can kill prey up to three times their weight.
Snow leopards become fully sexually mature at 2-3 years old. They mate between January and March, then after a pregnancy of 90-103 days they give birth to an average of 2-3 cubs although there are rare occurrences of litters of up to 7 kittens. They are weaned at 2-3 months old and leave their mother at 18-22 months old. Like most cats the snow leopard is a solitary creature except for mothers with young. They can live up to 21 years.
There is estimated to be only 4,000 to 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild and there are about 600 to 700 in zoos worldwide. The biggest reasons for the low number of snow leopards are illegal trading and revenge killing by livestock owners. They are traded for their pelts, bones and body parts. Lately there has been an increase in leopard bones as a substitute for tiger bones in traditional Chinese medicine as illegal trade of tiger parts has been more strictly enforced. Defragmentation also plays a role in the endangerment of the snow leopard as does the poisoning of small mammals, which can affect the snow leopard’s prey and the snow leopards themselves.
Like all big cats, the trading of snow leopard parts such as fur, bones and meat and the trading of live big cats is illegal. The snow leopard is also protected by several laws. To find out more about snow leopard conservation visit snowleopardconservancy.org.
