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Nthombi, looking very regal. All three leopards were in the tree together feeding on the impala this mother killed the night before. A Spotted Hyena was hanging around at the foot of the tree, waiting for scraps.
My all-time favourite animal - the beautiful Snow Leopard, today afforded me some minutes of delight, sitting for photographs in the best position to avoid the wire cage.
Well, not totally, but largely removed anyway by careful framing, manual focus and depth of field.
I have not used any post digital trickery to remove the cage from the shot - though I would love to know how!
It is very frustrating to have such intrusive wire instead of clear glass.
The Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia), sometimes known as the ounce, is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia from Afghanistan to Lake Baikal and eastern Tibet.
The Snow Leopard cannot roar.
Well known for its beautiful fur, the snow leopard has a whitish-tan coat with ringed spots of dark, ashy-brown and rosettes of black. Its tail is heavy with fur and the bottom of its paws are covered with fur for protection against snow and cold. The life span of a snow leopard is normally 15-18 years, but in captivity they can live up to 20 years.
Weighing usually 35 to 55 kilograms, the snow leopard is slightly smaller on average than a leopard. Exceptional large males can weigh up to 75 kg, very small females weigh only 25 kg.
The head and body length is 100 to 130 cm, the shoulder height is about 60 cm . The tail measures 80 to 100 cm and is proportionately longer than in any other cat species of comparable size. It helps to maintain its balance on the rugged terrain and unstable surfaces of its habitat and is used to cover its nose and mouth in very cold conditions. The head of the Snow Leopard is relatively small, however the male's head is usually much squarer and wider than that of the female. The big furry feet act as snowshoes, like those of the lynxes. The snow leopard has gray-and-white thick fur with numerous rosettes on the flanks and spots on the head and neck.
In summer, the snow leopard usually lives above the tree line on mountainous meadows and in rocky regions at an altitude of 2.700 to 6000 m. In winter, it comes down into the forests at an altitude of about 2000 m. It leads largely a solitary life, although mothers can rear cubs for extended periods of time in cave dens in the mountains. It is an opportunistic feeder, eating whatever meat it can find and kills animals three times its size, including domestic livestock. Its diet consists mainly of ibexes, the Bharal, the Markhor, the Urial, deer, boars, as well as pikas, marmots and other small rodents.
Melbourne Zoo, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Kruger National Park, South Africa.
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Albion Valiant Roe TWY8 - Leyland Leopard NWW 89E - Bedford VAS 5/Plaxton C29F USS 416L - Ford Thames Trader 570E Duple C41F GHD 215
Dewsbury Bus Museum - 9th March 2014
Chris Loades/ FFI
The Pamirs, known as the ‘Roof of the World’, are one of the key mountain ranges of Central Asia and are home to Tajikistan’s globally significant snow leopard population.
FFI is working to bring together local communities, hunting agencies, the state conservation sector and the military on the Tajik side of the Pamir mountain range in a programme to help conserve the regions’ biodiversity.
The project aims to secure vital snow leopard habitat and offer further hope to all the species found in the breathtaking Pamir landscape, including Marco-Polo sheep and the Barheaded (Indian) Goose.