Taxonomy
| Snow leopard | ||
| Panthera uncia | ||
| Kingdom | Animalia | |
| Phylum | Chordata | |
| Class | Mammalia | |
| Order | Carnivora | |
| Family | Felidae | |
| Genus | Panthera (sometimes Uncia is used) | |
| Species | Uncia | |
Description
Snow leopards are smaller than the other big cats but like them, exhibit a range of sizes. Snow leopards have long thick fur, the base colour of which varies from smoky grey to yellowish tan, with whitish underparts. They have dark grey to black open rosettes on their body with small spots of the same color on their heads and larger spots on their legs and tail.
Snow leopards show several adaptations for living in a cold mountainou s environment. Their bodies are stocky, their fur is thick, and their ears are small and rounded, all of which help to minimize heat loss. Their feet are wide, which distributes their weight better for walking on snow, and they have fur on their undersides to increase their traction on steep and unstable surfaces, as well as to assist with minimizing heat loss. Snow leopards’ tails are long and flexible, helping them to maintain their balance. The tails are also very thickly covered with fur which, apart from minimizing heat loss, allows them to be used like a blanket to protect their faces when asleep.
Snow leopards cannot roar, despite possessing some ossification of the hyoid bone. The presence of this ossification was previously thought to be essential for allowing the big cats to roar, but new studies show that the ability to roar is due to other morphological features, especially of the larynx, which are absent in the snow leopard. Snow leopard vocalizations include hisses, chuffing, mews, growls, and wailing.
The diet of the snow leopard varies across its range and with the time of year, and is dependent on prey availability. Its most common prey includes wild sheep and goats, but it also eats marmots, pikas, hares and game birds. It is not averse to taking domestic livestock, which brings it into direct conflict with humans. Snow leopards prefer to ambush prey from above and can leap as far as 14 meters.
Population size & trend
| Estimated population size: | Estimated population size: 4,080 — 6,590 (roughly, and most estimates of the different countries are outdated); as the snow leopard is hardly ever seen, and for good reasons is called the ghost of the mountain, this number should be regarded as a very rough extrapolation with high uncertainty.In addition, there are between 600 and 700 snow leopards in zoos around the world. |
| Trend: | decreasing |
Geographical range & habitat
Currently, it has a fragmented distribution, consisting of a mix of long narrow mountain systems and islands of montane habitat scattered throughout a large region surrounding the Central Asian deserts and plateaus. Core areas of snow leopard habitat are present around the periphery of the Tibetan plateau and Taklamakan desert in the Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Kun Lun, Tian Shan, and Altai mountain ranges. About one third of the world’s snow leopard population may live in Mongolia. Countries: Afghanistan; Bhutan; China (Gansu, Nei Mongol — Presence Uncertain, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Yunnan — Regionally Extinct); India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Sikkim, Uttaranchal); Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; Nepal; Pakistan; Russian Federation; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan The snow leopard is mostly associated with steep, dry, rocky terrain with shrub or grassland vegetation. In summer, the snow leopard usually live above the tree line on mountainous meadows and in rocky regions at an altitude from 2,700 to 6,000 m. In winter, it comes down into the forests to an altitude of around 2,000 m. Males and females apparently have overlapping ranges. An average density of about 1 snow leopard/100 sq km (about 3⁄100 sq mi) over large tracts of habitat appears to be typical |
Biology
| Head-body length: | 90 — 130 cm |
| Adult shoulder height: | about 60 cm |
| Tail length: | 80 — 100 cm |
| Female weight: | 35 — 40 kg |
| Male weight: | 45 — 55 kg |
| Age to maturity: | females reach sexual maturity after 2 — 3 years |
| Gestation period: | 93 — 110 days; mating season runs from early January until mid-March |
| Birth rate | litter size is 1 — 5; usually 2 — 3 |
| Life span: | up to 21 years (in captivity) |
| The snow leopard leads a largely solitary life, although mothers may rear cubs for extended periods of time in dens in the mountains. | |
Conservation & status
| Conservation: | There are numerous agencies working to conserve the snow leopard and its threatened mountain ecosystems. These include the Snow Leopard Trust, the Snow Leopard Conservancy and the Snow Leopard Network. These groups and numerous national governments from the snow leopard’s range, non-profits and donors from around the world recently worked together at the 10th International Snow Leopard Conference in Beijing. Their focus on research, community programs in snow leopard regions and education programs are aimed at understanding the cat’s needs as well as the needs of the villagers and herder communities impacting snow leopards’ lives and habitat. |
| IUCN Red list status: | Vulnerable (Red list) |
| CITES status: | Appendix I (Appendices) |
Threats
Human conflict is a key factor affecting the survival of the snow leopard. Snow leopards are often killed by local farmers because they prey on livestock such as sheep, goats, horses, and yak calves. In some areas domestic animals can make up to 58% of the snow leopard’s diet. The reason for the snow leopard’s increased reliance on domestic animals for meat is due to the decline in their natural prey base. The animals they would typically hunt such as the Argali sheep are also hunted by local comunitites. Much of the population decline is also attributed to hunting for the much coveted fur and for bones which are used in Chinese medicines. The habitat of the snow leopard continues to decline as inreased grazing and human settlements fragment the historic range of the species. Moreover, a decrease in suitable habitat is envisaged due to climate change. The Red List classification from the IUCN in September 2017 improved the conservation status of the snow leopard from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable.” As these iconic symbols of Asia’s great mountain wilderness still face numerous threats, many rapidly growing, in their high mountain home, this down-listing raised a controversy among snow leopard conservationists. |
Zoos
| The 600 – 700 snow leopards in zoos can be found here: Zoos with snow leopards | ||
| Studbooks | ||
| ISB: | Keeper: Nordens Ark, Sweden | ISB = International Studbook (WAZA) EEP = European Endangered species Programme (EAZA) ESB = European Studbook (EAZA) SSP = Species Survival plan Program (AZA) ASMP = Australasian Species Management Program (ZAA) |
| EEP: | Coordinator: Nordens Ark, Sweden | |
| ESB: | ||
| SSP: | Programme leader: Miller Park Zoo, U.S.A. | |
| ASMP: | ||
References
Sources used
- ARKIVE
- Wildlife Conservation Network
- Building a Future for Wildlife: Zoos and Aquariums committed to biodiversity conservation (Ed. Gerald Dick & Markus Gusset); WAZA, 2010
- Climate refugia of snow leopards in High Asia, by JuanLi, Thomas M.McCarthy, HaoWang, Byron V.Weckworth, George B.Schaller et al. In Biological Conservation, November 2016.
Video
This exciting video was taken in August 2010 at the Tost Mountain study area in South Gobi, Mongolia where Panthera and the Snow Leopard Trust are collaborating on the first ever long-term study of snow leopards. We believe these three snow leopards may be siblings that are approximately two years old, and have recently left their mother but are still traveling together. This film clip is actually 61 images taken about a half second apart by one of our remote automated cameras (Source: panthera.org)
