The Snow Leopard Panthera Uncia By: Cricket Francisco

Habitat The snow leopard can be found in rocky mountain ranges in Central Asia.

Snow Leopard Range Their range extends through twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The snow leopard’s range is shown in red.

What it Eats The snow leopard’s preferred prey is the Bharal, a goat like mammal. It also hunts yak, musk deer, and some domestic livestock.

A Snow Leopard Hunting Click to watch movie

Physical Characteristics Snow leopards are generally 48 to 56 inches long, (not including a tail up to 40 inches long) and weigh from 90 to 160 pounds. They have white under fur with black spots on their face, and black rings on the rest of their body.

Behaviors They normally hunt around dusk or at night. Except during mating season they are generally very solitary animals. When hunting their prey or traveling through their rocky terrain, they can jump up to 50 feet.

Young Females have one to four young at a time. This happens in late winter, every other year. They spend the remainder of the next two years raising their young, so they can live on their own. The snow leopard lives 15 to 18 years in the wild, and about 21 years in captivity.

Adaptations They have thick fur for warmth in the cold, snowy mountains. Well muscled chest and lungs to help take in scarce oxygen. They use their long tail for balance when hunting their prey. Their spotted fur helps them blend in with the rocks around them. Their large paws act as snow shoes, so they can travel on top of the snow. Their sharp teeth help catch and kill its prey. They also help protect them from danger.

Camouflaged Snow Leopard Snow Leopard Pelt Up Close

Why it’s Endangered There are 3 main reasons: Their bones, skin, and organs are very valuable in some Asian medicine, so they are commonly hunted for these things. Shepherds continue to move their herds farther up mountains where snow leopards live, which causes the snow leopard to hunt the herd. When the farmers see this, they shoot the leopard. Their prey species are finding limited places to graze and are dying out, which in turn creates less food for the snow leopard to hunt for.

Poachers with a Snow Leopard Pelt

What’s Being Done to Save Them The World Conservation Union (ICUN) made poaching for their fur, skin, bones, and organs illegal. National Parks have been created to protect them in their natural habitat. Shepherds have had their herds insured, and agree that they will not shoot the snow leopards in case of an attack.

Population In 1992 there were anywhere from 4510 to 7350 snow leopards in the wild. Currently there is estimated to be from 5000 to 7000 are in the wild. There are also about 700 in captivity. The population is estimated to rise slightly, but the numbers will remain monitored.

Video Click to watch movie

Websites Used: http://www.tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4725 http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/kids/text/kidfax.htm http://www.snowleopard.org www.google.com/images for pictures www.youtube.com for videos