STATUS: Endangered



DESCRIPTION: Well known for its beautiful fur, the snow leopard has a soft grey coat, covered with ringed spots of black on brown. Its tail is heavy with fur and the bottom of its paws are covered with fur for protection against snow and cold.


SIZE: The snow leopard is 47 to 59 inches in length, while its tail is 31 to 39 inches long.


POPULATION: Extremely rare in most of their range due to the demand for skins, an estimated 3,000 to 7,000 are left in the wild, and about 370 in captivity. Although trade in snow leopard furs is illegal, it continues, threatening the snow leopard’s existence.


LIFESPAN:Snow leopards have lived up to 15 years in captivity.


RANGE:The snow leopard is found in the high mountains of Central Asia, specifically the Himalayas, Altai and Hindu Kush. Snow leopards have a broad home range covering about 100 square miles because of the lack of abundant prey.


FOOD: The snow leopard’s prey includes wild sheep, wild boars, gazelles, hares, markhor, bobak, tahr, marmots, mice and deer. They stalk their prey and usually spring from a distance of 20 to 50 feet.


BEHAVIOR: As solitary creatures, snow leopards pair only during the breeding season. They do not roar. Snow leopards are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. They den in rocky caverns and crevices.


OFFSPRING: The breeding season is usually from January to May, with a gestation period that lasts 98 to 103 days. A female will give birth to one to four young in the spring in a rocky shelter lined with her fur. The young follow their mother on hunts at three months and remain with her through their first winter.


THREATS: Poaching for the fur trade.


PROTECTION: *CITES Appendix I, U.S. Endangered Species Act
*Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty with more than 144 member countries. Appendix I listed species cannot be traded commercially. Appendix II listed species can be traded commercially only if trade does not harm their survival.



info: they help keep warm by wrapping there long bushy tails around their bodies