Snow Leopards
By Susan Risch
Why I chose Snow Leopards
I have always loved snow leopards so when I was looking for endangered animals to study for my independent study project and saw snow leopards on the list, I was inspired to do my project about them.
Snow Leopard's Natural Habits
Snow Leopards live in the mountains of central Asia. They have a crepuscular activity pattern meaning they are active at dawn and dusk. However this behavior can change depending on the human presence near their home range. When there are very few humans near they are active in the day, but when there are a lot of humans near they become active in the night. A snow leopard's home range can cover hundreds of square kilometers, that they patrol alone like most cats. The only time you will see 2 snow leopards together is during mating season. A snow leopard's favorite prey are blue sheep and ibexes. They also eat marmots, pika, hares, and birds.
Dangers to Snow Leopards
One of the biggest threats to snow leopards is poaching. Habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change are other threats to snow leopards. The most common reason why people kill snow leopards is snow leopards are preying on their livestock or to sell their furs on the black market.
Snow Leopards Prey
Blue Sheep
One of the Snow Leopard's favorite meals.
Marmots
Snow Leopards help keep the ecosystem balanced by eating them.
Ibexes
Snow Leopard's love to eat them for dinner.
There are somewhere between 4,000 to 5,600 snow leopards left in the world.
What You Can Do About It?
You can make a donation to help pay the protection units that are protecting the snow leopards. Or if you want to a do a little bit more you can adopt your very own snow leopard.
Works Cited
"Behavior - Snow Leopard Trust." Snow Leopard Trust. Charity Navigator, 2014. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
"Snow Leopards for Kids." Snow Leopard Questions Answered (What Do Snow Leopards Eat?). Snow Leopard Conservancy, 2008. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"Snow Leopards." - WWF UK. WWF, 2010. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"Threats to Snow Leopards." Snow Leopard. Defenders of Wildlife, 2014. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.