Snow Leopard

1. Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a carnivore living in the mountain ranges of
Central Asia. It belongs to felidae, which is the
biological family of the cats. However, its exact taxonomic
position is still unclear.

2. Physical
• Snow leopards are smaller than the other
felids but similar. Their weight varies from
27-54kg and body length varies from
74-130cm.
• Snow leeopards have long thich fur, the base
colour of which varies from smokey grey to
yellowish tan, with whitish underparts and
larger spots on their legs and tail.

3. Adaptive Features
• Snow leopards are crepuscular being most active at dawn and
dusk.
• Their bodies are stocky, their fur is thick and their ears are small
and rounded, all of which help to minimise heat-loss.
• Their feet are wide, which distributes their weight better for
walking on snow and its tail is long and flexible which helps them
to maintain their balance.

4. Habitat
• The snow leopard’s range in central and south Asia is
rugged mountainous regions of approximately 1,230,000
square kilometres, which extends through 12 countries.
• In summer, the snow leopard usually live above the tree line
on mountainous meadows and in rocky regions at an
altitude of 2,700m to 6,000m. In winter, the snow leopard
comes down into the forests to an altitude of around
2000m.

5. Prey
• Snow leopards are carnivores and they actively hunt
their prey, but like all cats, they eat whatever meat it
can find including carcasses and domestic livestock.
They are capable of killing animals three times their
size but will readily take much smaller prey such as
hares and birds and they often ambush their preys
from above and can leap as far as 14 metres.
Here’s the movie of snow leopard
hunting the goat.

6. Predators
• Snow leopard’s predators are usually
humans, because they kill them to protect
their livestock and sometimes for leather
and fur. By the way, they don’t really have any
other predators because they are capable of
killing animals three times its size.

7. Life Cycle
• Snow leopards usually mate in late winter
and have a gestation period of 90-100 days.
Litter sizes vary from one to five cubs but
two or three is more usual. The cubs remain
with their mother until they become
independent after around 18-22 months.
• Snow leopards normally live for 15-18
years, but may live for up to 20 years in
captivity.

8. Conservation and
Population
• The total wild population of the snow leopard is estimated
at between 4,000 and 7,5000 individuals.
• In 1972 the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources, placed the snow leopard on
its red list of ‘Threatened’ species as ‘Endangered’.
• There are also 600-700 snow leopards in zoos around the
world.

9. Thank You For Watching