Endangered Species: Snow Leopard

The snow leopard lives rocky mountain sides, shrublands, grasslands and alpine plateaus at altitudes of about 9,000 to 12,000 feet. Today they are only found in the countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Many of the areas where the snow leopard used to live, they have become extinct.

The snow leopard is actually more closely related to the cheetah than to the leopard, oddly enough. They both have rounded skulls, long legs, large tails, and the inability to roar. However unlike cheetahs this is not because of the lack of a bone in the neck. Scientists are unsure of why the snow leopard doesn't roar. The snow leopard's coat is very thick to keep it warm. In the winter it is white while in the summer it is yellow gray. Like many of the big cats it has dark rosettes. Adult snow leopards weight between 80 and 175 pounds and are 39-51 inches long with a 31-39 inch tail.

Wild sheep and goats make up most of the snow leopard's diet although it varies by season and by region. They also eat ibex, deer, pikas, marmots, domestic animals, large birds (such as peasant and ptarmigan, musk ox, wild boar, hares and rodents. Snow leopards can kill prey up to three times their weight.

Snow leopards become fully sexually mature at 2-3 years old. They mate between January and March, then after a pregnancy of 90-103 days they give birth to an average of 2-3 cubs although there are rare occurrences of litters of up to 7 kittens. They are weaned at 2-3 months old and leave their mother at 18-22 months old. Like most cats the snow leopard is a solitary creature except for mothers with young. They can live up to 21 years.