Uncia uncia
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The snow leopard is not as closely related to the 'common' leopard as the name might suggest. Although they are from the same family, due to many physical differences, (particularly in skull characteristics), the snow leopard is the only member of it's own grouping, Uncia uncia. Aside from overall coloring, one of the most obvious of these differences is the length and fullness of the snow leopards coat. Because of the extreme cold found in the snow leopards natural habitat, this thick insulating coat is a necessity for survival. |
The snow leopard is also different in that they can neither roar, nor purr continuously. This is due to the way their vocal chords are structured. Even without a roar, the snow leopard has been observed, and is believed to have a complex communication process that includes head and cheek rubbing, scent marking and scratch markings, and urine spraying.
| Another of the major distinguishing characteristics of these cats is the shape of the head, which is small in comparison to the body size, and has a much more rounded, heavy-browed appearance than that of the 'common' leopard. The sinus cavity in the snow leopard is considerably larger than that of most other big cats, this helps the snow leopard make the best use of the thinner air, (less oxygen), in the higher elevations. |  |
These cats have adapted very well to their harsh mountainous habitats, with short strong legs, large paws, small ears and a long thick tail. The tail is used for balancing while leaping across rugged terrain and the snowshoe-like front paws are larger than the back paws and well insulated against the cold. The snow leopards base coat color can be grey to yellowish- or brownish-grey, and provides excellent camouflage in their wintry environment.
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Like the 'common' leopard, the snow leopard also has rosettes, however, they tend to be larger and less defined than those of the leopard or jaguar. Along with these rosettes, the snow leopard also has solid dark, or black spots on the head, face and extremities, excluding the tail. The tail is generally lined with large open rosettes that fade into wide dark bars towards the end. |
The snow leopards primary habitat ranges from Russia and Mongolia down into China, Tibet, and Nepal, it encompasses most of the mountainous regions of central Asia. During the warmer months snow leopards can be found between 2700 and 6000 meters, during the winter, however, their prey migrate to the lower altitudes, and the cats follow them. The snow leopards main source of food are wild sheep, goats, hare, pheasant and marmot. Their summer prey is estimated to be 45% marmot. Unfortunately, this puts them in direct competition with man, who kills the marmot both for their pelts, and also to save the grazing areas for their livestock. With the depletion of their main food source, the snow leopards have taken to attacking livestock, which creates a great deal of animosity on the part of the local humans. To date, however, there have been no recorded un-provoked attacks on humans by snow leopards.
| Because of population fragmentation and the inaccessibility of their habitat, very little information about the wild snow leopard population is available. Some have estimated as few as 4500 of these cats are left in the wild. Due to hunting and trapping for their coats and bones, (Chinese medicine), and the depletion of their prey species, the future of this beautiful animal is endangered. |  |
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