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Snow leopard

large felid native to the mountains of Central and South Asia

Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are members of the subfamily Pantherinae of the family Felidae. As a species, the snow leopard is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. Snow leopards are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

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  • The primary prey of snow leopards is wild sheep and goats whose typical habitat is the rugged terrain of mountainous regions. Smaller mammalian species (e.g. marmots, Marmota spp.; hares Lepus spp.; pikas, Ochotona spp.) and various birds have been reported in snow leopard diet. Domestic livestock, primarily sheep and goats, comprise a significant component of snow leopard diet in many areas, and occasionally horses, yaks, and cattle are also taken.
  • The snow leopard (Panthera uncial) is a flagship and keystone species in much of the alpine ecosystems of Central Asia, with only 4500–7500 individuals left in the world (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003). It has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 1972 (Goodwin and Holloway, 1972), and included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1975 (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003). They are also legally protected at the national level in every range country (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003). However, poaching for the exquisite fur and highly valued bones remains a significant and mostly increasing threat to snow leopards range-wide (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003). China is estimated to contain roughly 60% of snow leopard habitat and population, distributed primarily in Qinghai Province and the Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Regions, bus also occurring in Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (McCarthy and Chapron, 2003). At the same time, China likely owns the largest potential market, with a billion people of increasing economic stature and traditions of utilizing wildlife for traditional purposes. As such, the combination of China’s importance for the species and its threat through the poaching and trade of snow leopards makes China a determinant player in the species’ survival.
  • The snow leopard is usually found above 5000 feet and occurs as high as 18,000 feet. Though nowhere common, it has a wide range in the mountains of central Asia, from the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan eastward along the Himalaya and across Tibet into southern China, and also northward in the mountains of the U.S.S.R. and of west China to the Sayan Range, on the southern border of Mongolia: the few specimens caught in the wild come mostly from the Tien Shan Mountains of the U.S.S.R., where trapping is limited and the animal is otherwise protected.
    The typical snow leopard has pale frosty eyes and a coat of pale misty gray, with black rosettes that are clouded by the depth of the rich fur. An adult rarely weighs more than a hundred pounds or exceeds six feet in length, including the remarkable long tail, thick to the tip, used presumably, for balance and for warmth, but it kills creatures three times its own size without much difficulty. It has enormous paws and a short-faced heraldic head, like a leopard of myth; it is bold and agile in the hunt, and capable of terrific leaps ...
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