Snow Leopard

Uncia uncia

Native to the Central Asian mountains, the snow leopard is a rare sight, with only about 6,000 left in the wild. They are hunted for their beautiful, warm fur and for their organs, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Photograph by Michael Nichols

Map

Snow Leopard Range

Audio

Fast Facts

Type:: Mammal
Diet:: Carnivore
Size:: 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m); Tail, 36 in (91 cm)
Weight:: 60 to 120 lbs (27 to 54 kg)
Protection status:: Endangered
Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

These rare, beautiful gray leopards live in the mountains of Central Asia. They are insulated by thick hair, and their wide, fur-covered feet act as natural snowshoes. Snow leopards have powerful legs and are tremendous leapers, able to jump as far as 50 feet (15 meters). They use their long tails for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against the severe mountain chill.

Snow leopards prey upon the blue sheep (bharal) of Tibet and the Himalaya, as well as the mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. Though these powerful predators can kill animals three times their weight, they also eat smaller fare, such as marmots, hares, and game birds.

One Indian snow leopard, protected and observed in a national park, is reported to have consumed five blue sheep, nine Tibetan woolly hares, twenty-five marmots, five domestic goats, one domestic sheep, and fifteen birds in a single year.

As these numbers indicate, snow leopards sometimes have a taste for domestic animals, which has led to killings of the big cats by herders.

These endangered cats appear to be in dramatic decline because of such killings, and due to poaching driven by illegal trades in pelts and in body parts used for traditional Chinese medicine. Vanishing habitat and the decline of the cats' large mammal prey are also contributing factors.

Explorers

More Cats

Big Cats Features

NG and Panthera Team Up

Panthera is the world's largest organization dedicated entirely to wild cat conservation and will serve as a scientific and strategic collaborator for the Big Cats Initiative.
Photos: Life on the Serengeti

After 15 years, a dream to photograph lions in the Serengeti becomes reality.
Big Cats Cafe Press Special

When you purchase Big Cats gear from the National Geographic store or one of our partners, you're directly helping support our cause. Shop and save 20% on Big Cats merchandise. Coupon code BIGCATSWEEK must be entered at checkout.
Cause an Uproar

Big cats are quickly disappearing. Now is the time to act. Cause an uproar to save big cats today.