Female snow leopard
This snow leopard, named Enif, lives at Banham Zoo in Norfolk. She arrived in 2006 from Tama Zoo in Japan.
The snow leopard is well adapted to its harsh environment. Its fur camouflages the cat against rocky terrain and protects it from cold temperatures. Their dense fur, 2 in. (50 mm) long on their back and sides and almost 5 in. (122 mm) long on their belly, is grey and dotted with black rosettes but white on the belly. Thick fur also covers the cat's wide paws, this minimizes heat loss. The paws also act as natural snowshoes helping distribute their weight over soft snow.
Snow leopards have short powerful legs and are tremendous jumpers, able to leap as far as 50 ft. (15.25 m), or approximately 6 times their body length. They have a stocky body, and an extremely long, bushy tail which they use for balancing and as blanket, curling it over the face to stay warm. Its short muzzle and small ears also help the animal conserve heat. While other big cats have golden eyes, the snow leopard's eyes are grey or green. Also, unlike other big cats, the snow leopard cannot roar. Male snow leopards are larger than females, but they have a similar appearance. On average, a snow leopard's length is between 30 to 59 in. (75 to 150 cm), plus a tail that's 31 to 41 in. (80 to 105 cm) long. The average snow leopard weighs between 49 to 121 lb. (22 to 55 kg). A large male may reach 165 lb. (75 kg), while a small female may weigh under 55 lb. (25 kg).
Shy and reclusive, and rarely seen in the wild, snow leopards inhabit steep, rugged terrain with rocky outcrops throughout the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the southern Siberian mountains in Russia. They can also be found in the Tibetan Plateau and across a range that stretches from China to the mountains of Central Asia. In the summer, the snow leopards live above the tree line from 8,900 to 19,700 ft. (2,700 to 6,000 m), but in the winter they descend to forests between 3,900 to 6,600 (1,220 to 2,000 m). While they are adapted to traverse rocky terrain and snow, snow leopards will follow trails made by people and animals if they are available. They require an enormous amount of space to roam, male leopards need up to 80 square miles, while females have ranges of up to 48 square miles. They can travel over 25 miles in a single night.
Snow leopards' prey upon the blue sheep (bharal) of Tibet and the Himalayas, as well as the mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. Though these powerful predators can kill animals three times their weight, they also eat smaller fare, such as marmots, hares, and game birds. Snow leopards do not hunt adult yaks or humans. Usually they are solitary hunters, but pairs have been known to hunt together. One Indian snow leopard, protected and observed in a national park, is reported to have consumed five blue sheep, nine Tibetan woolly hares, 25 marmots, five domestic goats, one domestic sheep, and 15 birds in a single year.
Snow leopards' mate in late winter. The female finds a rocky den, which she lines with fur from her belly. After a 90 to100 day gestation, she gives birth to 1 to 5 black-spotted cubs. Like domestic kittens, snow leopard cubs are blind at birth. Cubs are weaned by 10 weeks of age and remain with their mother for up to 18 to 22 months. At that point, the young cats travel great distances to seek their new home. Scientists believe this trait naturally reduces the chance of inbreeding. In the wild, most cats live between 15 and 18 years, but snow leopards live about 25 years in captivity.
Despite a range of over 772,200 sq. miles (2 million km2), scientist estimate that there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild. As an apex predator, adult snow leopards are not hunted by other animals. Cubs may be eaten by birds of prey, but only humans hunt the adult cat for its fur and body parts. It is also killed to protect livestock. Humans also hunt the leopard's prey, forcing the animal to encroach on human settlements to find food.
The snow leopard was on the endangered species list from 1972 until 2017. The IUCN Red List now categorizes the snow leopard as 'Vulnerable'.
Female snow leopard
This snow leopard, named Enif, lives at Banham Zoo in Norfolk. She arrived in 2006 from Tama Zoo in Japan.
The snow leopard is well adapted to its harsh environment. Its fur camouflages the cat against rocky terrain and protects it from cold temperatures. Their dense fur, 2 in. (50 mm) long on their back and sides and almost 5 in. (122 mm) long on their belly, is grey and dotted with black rosettes but white on the belly. Thick fur also covers the cat's wide paws, this minimizes heat loss. The paws also act as natural snowshoes helping distribute their weight over soft snow.
Snow leopards have short powerful legs and are tremendous jumpers, able to leap as far as 50 ft. (15.25 m), or approximately 6 times their body length. They have a stocky body, and an extremely long, bushy tail which they use for balancing and as blanket, curling it over the face to stay warm. Its short muzzle and small ears also help the animal conserve heat. While other big cats have golden eyes, the snow leopard's eyes are grey or green. Also, unlike other big cats, the snow leopard cannot roar. Male snow leopards are larger than females, but they have a similar appearance. On average, a snow leopard's length is between 30 to 59 in. (75 to 150 cm), plus a tail that's 31 to 41 in. (80 to 105 cm) long. The average snow leopard weighs between 49 to 121 lb. (22 to 55 kg). A large male may reach 165 lb. (75 kg), while a small female may weigh under 55 lb. (25 kg).
Shy and reclusive, and rarely seen in the wild, snow leopards inhabit steep, rugged terrain with rocky outcrops throughout the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the southern Siberian mountains in Russia. They can also be found in the Tibetan Plateau and across a range that stretches from China to the mountains of Central Asia. In the summer, the snow leopards live above the tree line from 8,900 to 19,700 ft. (2,700 to 6,000 m), but in the winter they descend to forests between 3,900 to 6,600 (1,220 to 2,000 m). While they are adapted to traverse rocky terrain and snow, snow leopards will follow trails made by people and animals if they are available. They require an enormous amount of space to roam, male leopards need up to 80 square miles, while females have ranges of up to 48 square miles. They can travel over 25 miles in a single night.
Snow leopards' prey upon the blue sheep (bharal) of Tibet and the Himalayas, as well as the mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. Though these powerful predators can kill animals three times their weight, they also eat smaller fare, such as marmots, hares, and game birds. Snow leopards do not hunt adult yaks or humans. Usually they are solitary hunters, but pairs have been known to hunt together. One Indian snow leopard, protected and observed in a national park, is reported to have consumed five blue sheep, nine Tibetan woolly hares, 25 marmots, five domestic goats, one domestic sheep, and 15 birds in a single year.
Snow leopards' mate in late winter. The female finds a rocky den, which she lines with fur from her belly. After a 90 to100 day gestation, she gives birth to 1 to 5 black-spotted cubs. Like domestic kittens, snow leopard cubs are blind at birth. Cubs are weaned by 10 weeks of age and remain with their mother for up to 18 to 22 months. At that point, the young cats travel great distances to seek their new home. Scientists believe this trait naturally reduces the chance of inbreeding. In the wild, most cats live between 15 and 18 years, but snow leopards live about 25 years in captivity.
Despite a range of over 772,200 sq. miles (2 million km2), scientist estimate that there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild. As an apex predator, adult snow leopards are not hunted by other animals. Cubs may be eaten by birds of prey, but only humans hunt the adult cat for its fur and body parts. It is also killed to protect livestock. Humans also hunt the leopard's prey, forcing the animal to encroach on human settlements to find food.
The snow leopard was on the endangered species list from 1972 until 2017. The IUCN Red List now categorizes the snow leopard as 'Vulnerable'.