Facts about the Snow Leopards

The snow leopard is found in the high mountains of Central Asia and especially the Himalayas. You are bound to encounter these in the rugged mountains of the Afghanistan, India, Tibet, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, regions of Russia etc. These beautiful and graceful creatures are descendants of the panthers and the cat family. Snow leopards are known for their beautiful fur, which is evident from the whitish tanned coat with the beautiful ringed spots that are dark brown or black in color. An endangered species, the snow leopard has specific sites where conservation groups are doing their best to preserve their depleting numbers.

Facts about the Snow Leopards:
This large cat generally weighs around 35 to 55 kilograms. It has a soft grey coat with a white shade on the belly. The body of the snow leopard is covered with brown/black spots as mentioned before and these also have a beautiful furry tail, which also doubles up as a unique protection feature for them, during the cold winter days. (The tail is used to cover the mouth and even the nose in extreme colds). The beautiful tail is white and has a length of around 90 cms. The spots on the head and neck of the snow leopards are very similar to that of the Jaguar. Snow leopards are known to molt twice a year. The coat is dense in the winter season as compared one they sport in the summer season.

Snow leopards are solitary creatures and only socialize during the mating season. Sometimes nocturnal, these majestic creatures are quite active in the early morning hours and late afternoons.

The reproductive season of the snow leopards begins from the early months of January to mid March. On an average, the litter of a snow leopard consists of almost 1 to 5 cubs. The snow leopards choose rocks and use the rock crevices for the birth of the cubs. At birth, the cubs have spots that are completely black. Their eyes open up after a period of 7 to 10 days. The young cubs have solid food when they are about 2 months old. Young one move away from the mothers after 18 to 22 months. A young snow leopard reaches sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years.

So, what do snow leopards eat? Snow leopards are highly opportunistic hunters. These creatures can jump as far as 14 meters. It uses its agility and alert behavior to capture the prey. The diet for the snow leopards consists of wild sheep (Bharal), hare, wild boars, marmots, mice, deer etc. Once in every 10 to 15 days, the snow leopard makes a large kill. They remain with such kills for at least 3 to 4 days. The reason for the varied food items of the snow leopards is largely because, most of the times, they have to eat what they can find, owing to the habitat.

Snow leopards are in great demand due to their fur. Due to poaching, loss of habitat (caused by deforestation) and also due to loss of food sources for the snow leopards; their numbers are decreasing at an alarming rate. Although, these animals have their protected sites, it is the hunt for the soft fur that makes them vulnerable, even at such sites. Unless one stops buying such items, probably the demands for the fur would never decrease. Once the buying stops it would ultimately result in a very low demand for such goods, which in turn, could save the entire species. It is high time; one rectifies these mistakes if we need to preserve these beautiful creatures for the next generation.