And how we can save them from extinction…

What are snow Leopards?

The Snow leopard is a type of Large cat that lives in Asia and other neighbouring countries. The snow leopards scientific name is the" Uncia uncia” or it is also known as the ‘Panthera uncia'. They are in a group of very special “big Cats” as they cannot roar even though they have a large appearance.

Even though it is a Snow “Leopard” it is more related to the cheetah than the Leopard as they have similar characteristics and they both have tails which produces helpful balance on difficult landscaped mountains.

Their Appearance:

Snow Leopards have beautiful smokey grey fur with yellow and darkish grey rosettes. The snow leopard has a thick fur coat and long body hair. They also have large paws. Their front paws are longer than their hind legs. They have a very unique tail which helps them balance especially on rocky terrain and steep slopes. Their tails are longer than the other big cats. Their fur helps them keep warm in the cold harsh conditions.

Their Appearance:

In summer, their coat also protects them from the extreme heat of summer. Snow leopards fur turn different colours throughout the seasons. In winter, it turns white while in summer, it turns greyer. Although Snow Leopard’s have beautiful coats that is not necessarily a good thing as they are being poached for their coats. Their coats are very expensive as they are so rare to buy but it is not worth the extinction of the Snow Leopards.

A common Snow Leopard Diet.

The Snow Leopards diet consists of usually small sized animals such as the wild sheep, wild boars, gazelles, hares, markhor, bobak, tahr, marmots, mice and deer. Snow Leopards are slow eaters as they usually take between 3-4 days to fully consume a sheep or goat. They kill small animals mostly during Summer. Some Snow leopards also consume plants for nutrients especially during mating season. Snow leopards are also known to somehow creep into farmland and attack livestock.

Habitat

Snow Leopards live around central Russia, Mongolia, Western China, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Krgyzstan, and also in the Himalayas Region. Most of Their Habitat is rocky slopes, grassland and shrubland. They live in high caves around the rocky cliffs. When it is Summer, Snow Leopards live as high up the mountains as 6000 metres! When it is Winter they live at around 1,800 metres. They are active when it is dusk and dawn but they are nocturnal when people are around.

Breeding

The Mating season for snow Leopards is between January and Mid way through March. Females are Pregnant for 93-110 days. Snow Leopards usually give birth to 2-3 snow Leopards but sometimes they give birth to a rare 7 Cubs but this only happens when they are in captivity as the mother would not be able to look after 7 of them for long in the wild. Cubs are very small when they are born and cannot open their eyes until they are around seven days old.

BornAt 2 Months: Begin to Eat Solid FoodAt 3 Months: Are following their mother around and also learning how to hunt.At 4 months: They abandon their nest.1 and a half years: Are their full sizeAt 18-22 months: Starts to become fully independent.At 3 years: Becomes Mature and begins to breed.

Life Cycle

Population

Their are very few snow Leopards remaining in the world. The amount is about 3,500- 7,000 with around 600-700 remaining in captivity. Snow Leopards mostly live in China but there are many various numbers living in different countries. All of the 12 countries that snow Leopards live in have law protecting snow Leopards. Most of them have been there since 1970. Snow Leopards are also protected by many organisations across the world.

Estimated Snow Leopard Population.

Range State Habitat Area (km2) Estimated Population

Afghanistan 50,000 100-200

Bhutan 15,000 100-200

China 1,100,000 2,000-5,000

India 75,000 200-600

Kazakhstan 50,000 180-200

Kyrgyz Republic 105,000 150-500

Mongolia 101,000 500-1,000

Nepal 30,000 300-500

Pakistan 80,000 200-420

Tajikistan 100,000 180-220

Uzbekistan 10,000 20-50

What are the threats to the snow leopards?There are many threats to snow leopards. Poaching is a major problem. Their fur is highly prized in the fur trade and the body parts are used for Asian medicine. They are competing for their prey as some people hunt goats and sheep. The locals also shoot them as snow leopards are sometimes forced to hunt livestock. Another major problem is that Locals are not involved with the organisations trying to save Snow Leopards and still hunt them.

Organisations trying to protect them

•The Snow Leopard Trust

• WWF ( World Wildlife Fund )

• Animal Concerns

• WCN ( Wildlife Conservation Network)

• Snow Leopard Conservancy

• The Snow Leopard Network

• International snow Leopard Trust

Bibliography

•http://www.snowleopard.org/

•http://www.bigcatrescue.org/snow_leopard.htm

•www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/snow_leopard.html

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Leopard

•http://www.amazinbay.com/srd.php?ol=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zbm93bGVvcGFyZGNvbnNlcnZhbmN5

Lm9yZy9hYm91dDEuaHRt