A Snow Leopard at Marwell Zoo
Because the snow leopard lives in such inaccessible places the size of the wild population is very difficult to estimate, but could be as low as 600. These are distributed over a vast area including parts of Mongolia, USSR, China, Bhutan, N. India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. Numbers are few and are restricted to the higher colder regions above the forests, where permanent snow is found.
Seasonal migrations occur, descending from altitudes of over 4000m to around 2000m, where they spend the winter months. Snow leopards prey on mountain goats, ibex, gazelle, boar and smaller mammals and birds which they hunt at night and in the early morning. They retreat to rocky lairs during the day. Snow leopards are usually solitary but have been seen to hunt in pairs (This is usually a mother and cub). Unless they have cubs they do not stay long in an area.
The cubs are born in May - June. They receive milk up to 4 months but will also take meat brought to the den after 1.5 - 2 months. The nest is abandoned after about 3 to 4 months, the young staying with the mother through the following winter. They reach their full size at 1½ years.
As demand for more land has increased, domestic stock have been brought into the remote mountain areas, once the sole domain of the snow leopard. Inevitably occasional stock are killed, with the result that the snow leopard is persecuted by farmers. Hunting for the fur trade has also taken its toll, as has the reduction in the populations of its main prey species due to habitat destruction.
Marwell Wildlife, formerly known as Marwell Zoological Park, is a 140-acre (57 ha) zoo situated at Owslebury in Hampshire, near Winchester. It is home to over 1,200 animals of 235 different species, and in 2007 was voted by Hampshire residents in an online poll as the place they were most proud of.
Beyond the park itself, Marwell Wildlife is also a registered charity that works for international conservation, with a particular focus in Africa in addition to work from its base in Hampshire. Its name was changed from Marwell Zoo in 2009 to reflect these wider activities.
The zoo is now part of the new South Downs National Park which covers an area of over 1,600 km2 and is home to more than 108,000 people.
Recognised as an area of outstanding beauty, the South Downs is also home to a multitude of vibrant working communities steeped in history and traditional English culture, from the ancient cathedral city of Winchester in the west to the bustling market town of Lewes in the east.
www.marwell.org.uk/zoo_guide/animal_detail.asp?id=85&...
A Snow Leopard at Marwell Zoo
Because the snow leopard lives in such inaccessible places the size of the wild population is very difficult to estimate, but could be as low as 600. These are distributed over a vast area including parts of Mongolia, USSR, China, Bhutan, N. India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. Numbers are few and are restricted to the higher colder regions above the forests, where permanent snow is found.
Seasonal migrations occur, descending from altitudes of over 4000m to around 2000m, where they spend the winter months. Snow leopards prey on mountain goats, ibex, gazelle, boar and smaller mammals and birds which they hunt at night and in the early morning. They retreat to rocky lairs during the day. Snow leopards are usually solitary but have been seen to hunt in pairs (This is usually a mother and cub). Unless they have cubs they do not stay long in an area.
The cubs are born in May - June. They receive milk up to 4 months but will also take meat brought to the den after 1.5 - 2 months. The nest is abandoned after about 3 to 4 months, the young staying with the mother through the following winter. They reach their full size at 1½ years.
As demand for more land has increased, domestic stock have been brought into the remote mountain areas, once the sole domain of the snow leopard. Inevitably occasional stock are killed, with the result that the snow leopard is persecuted by farmers. Hunting for the fur trade has also taken its toll, as has the reduction in the populations of its main prey species due to habitat destruction.
Marwell Wildlife, formerly known as Marwell Zoological Park, is a 140-acre (57 ha) zoo situated at Owslebury in Hampshire, near Winchester. It is home to over 1,200 animals of 235 different species, and in 2007 was voted by Hampshire residents in an online poll as the place they were most proud of.
Beyond the park itself, Marwell Wildlife is also a registered charity that works for international conservation, with a particular focus in Africa in addition to work from its base in Hampshire. Its name was changed from Marwell Zoo in 2009 to reflect these wider activities.
The zoo is now part of the new South Downs National Park which covers an area of over 1,600 km2 and is home to more than 108,000 people.
Recognised as an area of outstanding beauty, the South Downs is also home to a multitude of vibrant working communities steeped in history and traditional English culture, from the ancient cathedral city of Winchester in the west to the bustling market town of Lewes in the east.
www.marwell.org.uk/zoo_guide/animal_detail.asp?id=85&...