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SNOW LEOPARD ARCHIVE |
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DESCRIPTION: The snow leopard is well adapted for living in the extreme cold of their mountain environment. With a coat that thickens during the winter, marked evenly with open rosettes of ashen-gray to black, the usually light gray or pale yellow fur allows the snow leoaprd to easily blend in against either snow or rocky ledges. The tail is probably the most distinctive feature, measuring about three-fourths again the body length and serves to maintain balance while jumping and also to keep the nose warm. The snow leopard does this by curling the tail around the body and holding it in place with its mouth. Other adaptations that the snow leopard has for its environment include large forepaws heavily cushioned by hair that increases the surface area of the paws. This allows for better traction in soft snow or on ice as well as extra insulation against the cold, much like built-in snowshoes. Also, short limbs, well-developed chest muscles, and long and thick fur helps to guard the cat from the cold and traverse over terrain through leaps up to 15 meters (50 feet). One of the reasons that the snow leopard is not classified as Panthera is that it does not roar. SIZE: Head and body length is 100-130 cm (39-51 inches), while the tail is 78-99 cm long (31-39 inches). Adult shoulder height about 60 cm (24 inches). Adult weight averages 35-40 kilos (77-88 lbs) (female) and 45-55 kilos (99-121 lbs) (male) LONGEVITY: Snow leopards have lived up to 15 years in captivity. RANGE: Snow leopards inhabit the mountain steppes and coniferous (pine/evergreen) forest srub at high altitudes (5,900-18,000 feet). They prefer mountain regions durint the winters and meadows/rocky areas during the summer months. Snow Leopards are often found between 6,000 and 20,000 feet in altitude, though rarely venture above 17,000 feet, for such areas are either too high or unproductive to support prey animals. They prefer steep, rugged terrain broken by cliffs, ridges, gullies and rocky outcrops, showing a strong preference for irregular slopes in excess of 40 degrees and well-defined landform edges, like ridgelines, bluffs, and ravines. Even Mt. Everest, Earth's highest mountain, is home to these endangered cats. Countries where snow leopards are known to be located: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, ajikistan, and Uzbekistan. DIET: The snow leopard is an opportunistic predator capable of killing prey up to three times its own weight -- it can prey upon most mountain species except for fully grown yak or wild ass. However, blue sheep and ibex are the main prey, along with marmots, livestocks, and the occasional gamebird or small rodent. Snow leopards are also known to feed upon argali, Himalayan tahr, markhor and other wild goats or sheep, as well as some deer, wild boar and domestic livestock. The cats tend to hunt around the clock, but mainly at dawn and dusk. They hunt by stalking their prey and springing from a distance upwards of 15 meters (50 feet). BEHAVIOURS: Snow leaopards are considered nocturnal, but seem to be most active in the early morning and late afternoon. They den in rocky caverns and crevices. This secretive cat is a solitary hunter except when a female has young with her. They search for prey along stream valleys, using ridges and cliffs as a vantage point from which to spot and ambush prey or to escape from potential danger. They follow migrating prey along their annual migration routes. Another reason that they have not gained support for classification as Panther uncia is due to the fact that they eat in a crouched position. Snow leopards have several methods for communicating with one another, such as scraping with their hind legs in loose soil. From scent glands located near the tail, snow leopards spray boulders with a pungent liquid. Cheek-rubbing spreads the scent, and helps one leopard to pick up the scent of another. Scent marks can mean "keep out," where individuals wish to identify their ranges. Usually, a male cat's range will include that of one or more females, and sometimes the ranges of more than one male overlap. Scent marks help males and females find each other in the breeding season. REPRODUCTION: Snow leopards are most often seen alone, except during the breeding season, and when females are raising cubs. Mating occurs in late winter and early spring, from January through May, and cubs are born 90-103 days later, when the wild sheep and goats have given birth and food is at its most plentiful in the mountains. A typical litter size consists of 1-4 cubs every other year, born in a rocky shelter lined with their mother's fur. At 7-9 days of age, the young will open their eyes, at 2 months they will eat solid food, and at 18-22 months they will usually seperate themselves from mother and siblings. The first year the cubs spend with their mother, learning to hunt. In the wild, vocalizations are most commonly heard during the mating season. The plaintive cries of a snow leopard searching for a mate may have been mistaken for the call of the Yeti in some parts of the Hilama, for yeti sightings coincide closely with the snow leopard's mating season. Groups of as many as five or six "adult-sized"; snow leopards have been seen, and these presumably consist a female with her nearly fully grown offspring, possibly also accompanied by a courting male. In any event, males and females do not form life-long bonds as once speculated, and males play no role in the raising of cubs. CONSERVATION: There are perhaps 6,000 snow leopards left in the wild. The number is difficult to estimate since snow leopard terrain is rugged and researchers must rely on indications of the animal rather than direct sightings. To some scientists, the animal is known as an indicator species, one that indicates the general health of a particular environment. Since the snow leopard lives at the top of the food chain, if there are abundant and healthy snow leopards in an area, there is probably also a healthy local ecosystem. Conservation of the snow leopard therefore contributes to conserving the chain of life that must survive to support the snow leopard. With its extensive territory needs, its position at the top of the food chain, and its almost mystical appeal as a beautiful resident of the loftiest mountains in the world, the snow leopard is a powerful symbol for biodiversity conservation in central Asia. A number of projects are under way to protect the snow leopard. These include: A conservation education package for school children in Tibet, that focuses on the snow leopard as a symbol for conservation of Tibet's unique high-elevation environments A field survey of snow leopards in two specific reserves: the Khunjerab National Park in Pakistan and the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve in China. Results are being installed in an interactive database to record data on snow leopard populations, their habitats, and their prey. Technical assistance, training, and technology transfer to the Government of Kyrgyzstan to help plan and manage the newly established Sarychat-Irtash-Uchkul Nature Reserve. In snow leopard countries there are more than 130 official 'reserves' that are believed to harbour snow leopards as well as argali sheep, black-necked cranes, wild dog, markhor, and other endangered species. Most of these, however, are reserves in name only. Few now have resources to support rangers or conservation. One urgent need is to establish corridors through which snow leopards in one threatened area can travel to other territories. Already scientists are seeing evidence of snow leopards travelling through (not living in) the lowlands of the south Gobi region of Mongolia -- an area that was once thought impossible for snow leopards. A successful breeding program of snow leopards has been going on in zoos for years. The program carefully monitors genetic lineage in order to prevent inbreeding. The program cannot, however, create animals that are the same as snow leopards living in the wild. A photograph of a zoo animal shows an animal that has lost its spark. A rare photograph of a snow leopard in the wild shows an animal that is tense with vitality. Legal Protection: CITES, Appendix I, Endangered Species Act. Zoo Programs -- SSP: There are over 600 snow leopards in zoos worldwide; over 250 are managed in North America under the AZA SSP. THREATS: Humans are the main threat to this beautiful species. Snow leoaprds are often hunted for their exotic coats or to protect domestic herds from being their prey. In Mongolia, officials even allow hunting of snow leopards by permit. "To humans, snow leopards have always possessed some sacred essence of nature. We are fortunate to be living in a time when snow leopards still roam the mountains of central Asia. When the mountains lose their last snow leopard, a spark will have gone from the world." Information Sources: International Snow Leopard Trust; Rodney Jackson, wildlife biologist; and the American Zoo Association |
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