Snow Leopard
By: Emma Solcz
Snow leopards are cool creatures, but they are endangered. That means that they are becoming extinct. We need to help them survive.
Snow Leopard Appearance
The snow leopard has yellowish-gray fur with black or brown rings. This camouflage helps it stay hidden in its snowy habitat. Snow leopards have a heavy tail, large paws, and body that are all covered with fur. All their limbs have to be powerful, so that they can pounce on unsuspecting prey.
The average adult snow leopard weighs between 77-120 pounds. The average length for an adult is 6-7.5 feet. A female snow leopard is smaller than a male.
Diet of a Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a carnivore. They hunt herbivores in snowy mountains. Wild sheep and goat are the main animals that they hunt. They are also known to hunt small animals like game birds and rodents. After hunting, they will eat part of the meal. Some meals can last for three or more days.
Habitat
This big cat lives in the snowy mountains of Central Asia. It also lives in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, India and China. The food lives in the mountains and the snow can help camouflage.
The big cats live up to 9,800-17,000 feet in the air. They keep going up the mountains because of their food is going up the mountains too.
Interesting Facts
The snow leopard has paws like snowshoes. These big paws help them stay on top of the snow and not sink in. They can also pounce on prey from 30 feet away.
Snow leopards have gray or green eyes, but regular big cats have gold or yellow eyes.
Finally, snow leopards are the only big cat that can't roar.
Why Snow Leopards Are Endangered
Snow leopards are endangered because of two main reasons. The first reason is that poachers kill them. Snow leopard fur and bones are the most valuable parts. Also, body parts and bones are used for ancient Asian medicine.
The second reason is their climate is disappearing. Food moves up the mountain, so the leopard moves up the mountain. There are less plants and foliage higher on the mountain, so food become scarce. Then the snow leopards die without food.
How Humans Are Helping
Conservation groups are being created to help the snow leopard. Farmers are trying to exist without killing the leopards. They do this by shutting their animals in the barn at night so the leopards don't kill the animals. Finally, people are working to breed the snow leopard in captivity. That way when the population is increased, the leopards can go back in the wild.
How Many Are Left
Scientists estimate that there are about 4,150-7,350 snow leopards left in the wild. In some countries there are only 20-100. This number keeps dropping because of us. We need to help the snow leopard get off the endangered list