The beautiful snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a white to smokey-grey color, with yellow tinged fur and patterned dark-grey to black rosettes and spots. The snow leopard has many adaptations for its cold habitat; long body hair and thick, woolly belly fur, large paws and a well-developed chest and enlarged nasal cavity that warms the cold air as it is breathed in. The long, thick tail is almost a meter in length and is used for balance and as added insulation when wrapped around the body and face at rest. The short forelimbs and long hind limbs enable this leopard to be particularly agile in its steep and rugged habitat. Snow leopards are able to jump as far as 50 feet (15 meters). Snow leopards are capable of killing prey up to three times their own weight. Snow leopard fur was once highly prized in the international fashion trade and around 1,000 pelts were traded a year in the 1920’s.
Diet[]
Snow leopards are carnivores as they can eat yaks, red pandas, giant panda cubs, and urials.
Lifespan[]
Snow leopards can live up to 17 years in the wild. Up to 26 years in captivity.
Predators[]
Other than human poachers, adults have no predators, cubs are sometimes killed and eaten by brown bears, south China tigers, and Tibetan wolves.
