The Snow Leopard's Fight for Survival Continues

Snow Leopards are found in 12 countries throughout the higher mountain ranges of central Asia and make their homes at elevations between nine thousand and nineteen thousand feet. In the winter months they may be forced to follow prey to lower elevations. A typical Snow Leopard den is usually made in rocky crevices on steep slopes but a good old fashioned cave will suffice as well.

These gorgeous leopards have a thick yellowish gray or smoky white coat covered with small black spots and a broken black stripe that runs down the spine to the tail. The tail is extremely fluffy and acts as a scarf of sorts for the Snow Leopard to wrap around it's face to keep the nose and lungs from freezing at night. They have white bellies and underparts, the perfect camouflage for the snowy mountain terrain they call home, and their huge paws act as snow shoes to insure the Snow Leopard easy passage of snow covered slopes and deeper drifts.

In the wild, an adult Snow Leopard will grow to be around two feet tall (to the shoulders) and anywhere from six to eight feet in length (from head to tail). Their weight can be anywhere from sixty pounds to one hundred and forty pounds with a diet consisting mostly of Bharal sheep, musk deer, marmots and pikas. Occasionally, when wild prey is scarce, a Snow Leopard may dine on some delectable domestic livestock. Sheep and goats are among the most popular and abundant. Snow Leopards that live at the zoo are given everything from chicks and rabbits, mutton, beef heart or beef kidney to a commercially prepared feline diet. Horse meat, chicken, beef knuckle bones and ground turkey are also on the zoo menu.

Snow Leopards are generally solitary creatures but some breeding pairs at zoos have been known to bond and exhibit more social interaction with each other. Females reach sexual maturity between the ages of two and three with males following close behind reaching sexual maturity around age four. The average gestation period is from ninety to one hundred days and a mother Snow Leopard may give birth to as many as five cubs per litter. Most litters consist of only two or three. Cubs are born with their eyes closed and will not get their first peek at the world for about a week. They can be born anytime from April to June and in the first several weeks of life they live solely off of their mother's milk. Snow Leopard cubs begin eating solids by two or three months of age but will continue hunting with their mother until around 18 months. At this time the cubs leave their mother to live alone until natural instinct and sexual maturity drive them to find a mate.

Snow Leopards are an endangered species. Their lustrous spotted coats fetch a high price on the black market thanks to an enormous demand. Because of this, the hunting of these cats continues to increase. Another reason for the declining Snow Leopard population in the wild is that humans and their livestock are constantly moving into or closer to the Snow Leopard's natural habitat and scaring away much of the leopard's prey. Their reclusive behavior makes it tough to determine how few of these fine felines may actually be left in the wild but the number could be as low as four thousand. If steps aren't taken to insure the welfare and continued existence of these magnificent cats their population may be decimated in less than a decade.