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Snow leopard cat breed. Irbis or snow leopard from the cat family - description with photos and videos

Snow leopard, also known as snow leopard, or snow leopard (lat. Panthera uncia, Uncia uncia) is a mammal of the order Carnivora, cat family. Previously, it was classified as a separate genus, Snow Leopards (lat. Uncia), represented by a single species Uncia uncia. In 2006, according to the results of genetic studies, in some classifications it was added to the genus Big cats (Panthers) (lat. Panthera). It turned out that according to the genetic criterion, the snow leopard is closest to. True, some scientists still doubt this, classifying the animal as belonging to the genus Uncia. Besides snow leopard have the same controversial status clouded leopard And .

International scientific name: Panthera uncia(Schreber, 1775), Uncia uncia (Schreber, 1775).

Synonyms: Felis uncia(Schreber, 1775).

Security status: According to the IUCN Red List (version 3.1), the snow leopard is considered vulnerable. According to the Red Book of Russia, the species is disappearing.

This cat has many names. The Kalmyks call it irgiz, the Uzbeks - alaji bars, the Tatars - akbars, the Tungus - kunik, the Yakuts - khakhai, the Kazakhs - ilbis or barys, the British - snow leopard, the Mongols - irves. In Japanese, snow leopard is tora. In Kyrgyzstan, the snow leopard is called ilbirs. In Russian, it has long been called an irbis, which is translated from the ancient Turkic language as “snow cat”, and in Tuvan it sounds like irbish.

Russian people learned about the snow leopard from merchants who traded with the Turkic peoples. The word itself entered scientific literature as a full term replacing the name “snow leopard”. The word "leopard" is also borrowed from the Turkic language and means "leopard". The snow leopard is often also called the white leopard. First scientific name Uncia was given to the snow leopard by the German scientist I.H. Schreber in 1775.

By the way, despite the fact that the leopard is called a snow leopard, it does not like to walk in the snow.

Snow leopard - description of the animal and photographs. What does a snow leopard look like?

The snow leopard is a graceful predator with a flexible and agile body, a smooth and graceful gait, somewhat reminiscent of, but squat in comparison with it. The features of the snow leopard's adaptation to its environment are noticeable in its entire appearance. Average length the body of the animal is 100-130 cm, the tail - 90-105 cm. The total length of the body including the tail can reach 230 cm. The height at the withers is approximately 60 cm. The size of males exceeds the size of females. The weight of an adult male snow leopard reaches 45-55 kg, a female weighs no more than 35-40 kg.

The body of the snow leopard is slightly convex in the area of the sacrum and sloping towards the shoulders, which is characteristic of the appearance of small cats (lat. Felinae). The snow leopard is ten times heavier than a domestic leopard and seven to eight times lighter than a tiger, the largest of the cats. For this, scientists call it the “big small cat.” The snow leopard differs from the leopard in having a less massive front part of the body and a smaller head.

The snow leopard's head is small, round, and shaped like the head of a domestic cat. It has small, rounded, widely spaced ears. The structure of the snow leopard's skull is easily recognized by its characteristic large forehead. There are no tassels on the ears. In winter, the ears are practically invisible due to the long pile covering them.

The whiskers on the face of the snow leopard are black or white, up to 10.5 cm long. The animal's eyes are large, with round pupils. Vision and smell are very well developed.

U snow leopard spicy and long teeth and claws. All cats, including the snow leopard, have 30 teeth:

on the upper and lower jaws there are 6 incisors, 2 canines;
on the upper jaw - 3 premolars and 1 molar;
on the lower jaw - 2 premolars and 1 molar.

The length of the snow leopard's fangs is somewhat shorter than those of other cats. It is 59.9 mm.

On the sides long tongue The snow leopard has tubercles covered with keratinized skin. They help the beast strip meat from the victim and wash itself during hygienic procedures.

The soft and long hairs of the animal can reach 55 mm.

The magnificent tail of the snow leopard is covered with especially long hair. It reaches more than ¾ of the total body size and appears very thick due to its elongated fur. The thickness of the tail exceeds the thickness of the predator's forearm.

The snow leopard holds its tail either bent in an arc towards its back, or drags it freely along the ground, stones or snow: then in winter a distinct stripe is additionally visible between its tracks.

By the way, the snow leopard often bites its tail for some reason. Zoologists suggest that this is how he simply warms his nose in cold winters. But maybe there is another explanation for this? All cats love to play, and snow leopards are no exception: they bite their tails for fun.

The snow leopard's wide snowshoe paws are equipped with light pink retractable claws. Along with thick fur, they make the predator visually larger. The length of the foot of the hind legs of the mammal is 22-26 cm.

The color of the snow leopard's coat on the back and upper sides is predominantly smoky-brownish-gray, with dark gray or black spots. There are no differences in color between females and males. In the off-season, the smoky coating is less pronounced than in winter. The belly and sides of the animal below are lighter than top part bodies. There is no yellowness in the colors. However, according to the latest data, the Baikal subspecies (lat. U. u. baikalensis-romanii), which not all scientists recognize as a valid subspecies, has yellow tones in color.

The spots on the predator’s body have the shape of rings (rosettes) or continuous streaks with a diameter of 5 to 8 cm. There are only solid spots on the neck, head and legs. On the back, near the sacrum, they often merge and form stripes stretching along the body. At the end of the tail there are large markings in the form of half rings framing the tail. Unlike a real leopard, the snow leopard has much fewer spots.

The pattern of spots is individual for each animal. In young individuals it is bright; over the years it becomes fuzzy and blurry, remaining only on the head and paws. This coloring helps the predator remain invisible among rocks, stones and snow. Adaptation of the snow leopard to natural environment habitat is also expressed in changes in the thickness of the coat depending on the season. The winter fur of the snow leopard is very lush and silky, it allows the predator not to freeze in the mountains even in the cold season.

Like all living organisms, the adaptability of the snow leopard is relative character. When environment actively changes - the snow quickly melts, the mountain slopes are covered with dense vegetation, then the animal is not saved by either the color of its fur or its sharp claws.

What does a snow leopard eat?

The snow leopard, like any cat, is a dexterous and strong hunter. It can kill prey more than 3-4 times its weight. The snow leopard's food is mainly medium-sized ungulates. The snow leopard hunts mountain goats (lat. Capra), point-horned goats (markhors) (lat. Capra falconeri), blue rams (lat. Pseudois), argali (lat. Ovis ammon), Siberian roe deer (lat. Capreolus pygargus), musk deer (lat. Moschus moschiferus), deer (lat. Cervus elaphus), reindeer(lat. Rangifer tarandus), boars (lat. Sus scrofa), gazelles (lat. Gazella subgutturosa), kulans (lat. Equus hemionus), serau (lat. Capricornis), gorals (lat. Naemorhedus caudatus), Himalayan tar (lat. Hemitragus jemlahicus), takins (lat. Budorcas taxicolor). More often it attacks female goats and young kids, sometimes not yet able to follow their mother.

Snow leopards also eat small animals such as snowcocks, pikas, marmots, hares, and chukars. They catch birds: pheasants, partridges, mountain turkeys. Of the large victims, their prey can be male deer and horses. Like other felines, they sometimes eat grass or rhododendron shoots to compensate for the lack of vitamins. Snow leopards attack domestic animals (goats, snow leopards) either winter period, or if they graze in alpine meadows.

On average, the snow leopard hunts 2 times a month. He does this alone, more often at night or at dusk, less often during the day. Only occasionally can a male and a female or a female with grown cubs go hunting together.

The snow leopard hunt consists of an ambush and a decisive throw. Usually the predator lies above the path along which the ungulates pass in order to make a jump from above. He can also watch over them at a watering hole or salt lick. To be successful, he needs a height advantage. If the leopard misses when throwing, it usually pursues the victim no more than 300 meters or even leaves it alone. At short distances, the speed of the snow leopard can reach 64 km per hour. The snow leopard can also crawl towards its prey from cover. When there are several tens of meters left before the prey, the snow leopard jumps out and quickly overtakes it with a jump of 6-7 meters in length. Having caught up with his prey, he tears its throat or groin with his teeth.

Occasionally, the snow leopard tries to catch up with its prey. So on the Dzhebaglytau ridge we encountered traces of a predator chasing argali females for about a kilometer.

The leopard does not kill several animals at the same time, as, for example, a wolf does. He eats the carcass of a killed or goat in 3-7 days. At one time he can eat no more than 3 kg of meat.

The snow leopard lives in 12 countries: Nepal, Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia.

Snow leopard - inhabitant of the snowy peaks of the massifs Central Asia. Usually its home is the highlands near the snow line, up to an altitude of 2000 - 5000 meters. Depending on the snow line, it can descend to a level of 500 m (in Russia) and rise to 6500 m (in Nepal). In winter, the predator can be found in the forests where the snow leopard hunts, musk deer, and deer. The oldest fossilized remains of this animal were found in Altai and Mongolia. They have been preserved there since the Pleistocene era of the Quaternary period.

The snow leopard's habitat extends from the Himalayas in the south, through the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and the mountains of Central Asia to the mountains Southern Siberia in the north. The predator is found in the Altai, Sayan Mountains, Tien Shan, Kunlun, Pamir, Hindu Kush, Karakorum, as well as on the outer Himalayan ranges and in small isolated mountains in the Gobi region. In the mountains of Tibet, the snow leopard is found as far as Altun Shan. The southern border of the distribution of the mammal is in Tajikistan. A small area of potential range is located in northern Myanmar, but the animal's recent presence there has not been confirmed. On the territory of Russia lies the northernmost border of the snow leopard’s habitat in the world: here it inhabits the Altai-Sayan mountainous country (south Krasnoyarsk Territory, Chita region, the Republics of Tyva, Altai, Buryatia, Khakassia), and is also found in such reserves as Altai and Sayano-Shushensky. Unfortunately, in Russia the snow leopard population is on the verge of extinction.

Due to the small number and secrecy, the presence of a snow leopard in the territory and its habits are recognized mainly due to indirect signs. Where the snow leopard is located, there are scrapes in the ground, burrs on tree trunks, excrement, urine marks and footprints. Snow leopard tracks are large, without claw marks, reminiscent of lynx tracks. But snow leopard and lynx are practically never found in the same territory. Now automatic cameras (photo traps) and satellite beacons have been added to the methods of detecting animals. With their help you can learn everything about the snow leopard.

The slopes of the Altai Mountains are a typical habitat for the snow leopard. Photo credit: Stefan Kühn, CC BY-SA 3.0

Number of snow leopards in the world

This secretive and therefore poorly studied mammal has become rare due to the fault of people. The first mentions of it in literature appeared only in the 18th century. And all the work of that time was devoted to how to discover the habitat of the snow leopard, how to properly kill the animal and tan its skin. The snow leopard was important only as a game animal. Due to intensive destruction, the life of the snow leopard was in danger.

Due to the fact that the snow leopard leads a secretive lifestyle, it is difficult for scientists to accurately count the number of individuals. According to the latest data, there are from 4 to 7 thousand snow leopards left in the world.

There are only 150-200 individuals left in Russia.
China has the largest number of snow leopards: 2000-5000 individuals.
There are 600-700 snow leopards living in zoos around the world.

Snow leopards have become completely extinct in parts of Russia, Nepal, India and Mongolia. The reasons why the numbers of this species are declining around the world are absurdly similar:

Poaching.

The snow leopard is hunted for its valuable fur, as well as for the use of its body parts in oriental medicine. Leopards often die after getting caught in snares placed on other animals; in Russia, most often on musk deer.

Human modification of the snow leopard's habitat.

The construction of roads, as well as gas and oil pipelines, affects the number of ungulates - the leopard's main prey. The proximity of man-made buildings also causes discomfort for this cautious and secretive mammal.

Shooting during an attack on livestock .

The snow leopard can attack livestock if it is grazing in the predator's hunting area. Having climbed into a covered pen, in his excitement he can slaughter almost the entire herd.

Reducing the number of ungulates due to intensive human hunting and changes in their habitats.

How does a snow leopard live in the wild?

It is important for the snow leopard to be surrounded by rocks, boulders, scree, and gorges, because it cannot pursue prey for a long time, and therefore hunts from ambush. When a snow leopard sits hidden among the rocks, it is almost impossible to notice it. The animal's paws, which are short relative to the body, allow it to move silently along the rocks. It slowly creeps up or quietly waits for the victim, and then suddenly attacks it. This tactic allows the predator to cope with an animal much larger than itself. Like big cats, it kills prey quickly and accurately, and eats it like representatives of small cats: slowly and little by little.

The snow leopard is a cautious animal. Its main refuges are hard-to-reach gorges, crevices and caves in the mountains. Females hide here and breed their offspring. In the mountains, the snow leopard wanders behind herds of ungulates, in the summer it rises higher in the mountains, and in the winter it descends to the forest belt. In summer, it often lives in the subalpine and alpine belts of the mountains.

Despite its name, the snow leopard has difficulty moving through deep snow. In winter, he prefers to walk along well-trodden animal trails.

The snow leopard can jump up to 3 meters in height and up to 6-7 meters in length. There is evidence that it “flies” over gorges that are 15 meters wide, but this is unlikely. The snow leopard's jump is helped by well-developed pectoral muscles, with their help he perfectly climbs steep cliffs. In this case, its tail serves as a steering wheel - this is one of the explanations why the snow leopard needs such a long tail. The main prey of the snow leopard is wild mountain ungulates, so daily training exercises– overcoming steep slopes and jumping over rocky screes is a vital necessity for a predator. The snow leopard uses its tail as a balancer when fast movements and sharp turns.

The snow leopard is an animal well adapted to life on high altitude. He has an expanded chest and large lung capacity to receive required amount oxygen from thin air high in the mountains. The deep and wide cavity of its nose helps warm the cold mountain air. In addition, when he goes to bed, he covers his nose with his fluffy warm tail.

The snow leopard can withstand frosts down to -40°C and below. In winter, even the pads of its paws are covered with thick hair.

Each snow leopard has its own territory, the boundaries of which it marks in different ways: it scrapes the ground with its hind legs, leaving scratching holes, splashes of urine on the rocks at nose level, excrement, scuff marks on the most noticeable tree trunks. But males are not aggressive towards their fellow tribesmen; their territories can overlap with the territories of several adult females.

The snow leopard is most active at dawn and dusk, making it difficult to spot. In winter, the animal has a more difficult time than in summer, since its tracks in the snow are clearly visible.

By the way, the snow leopard loves to play, like all cats: it rolls around in the snow, rolls down the mountains on its back, having previously accelerated well. After a successful hunt, he basks in the sun, settling down somewhere more comfortable.

The snow leopard cannot growl: it purrs, meows, moans, howls, hisses. The meow of a snow leopard resembles a roar, as it calls spring with its guttural “ay”.

The irbis, or snow leopard, hunts alone in the most high mountains peace.

Taxonomy

Russian name - snow leopard

English name - snow leopard

Latin name - uncia

Order - carnivores (Carnivora)

Family - cats (Felidae)

Genus - snow leopards (Uncia), has 1 species.

Conservation status of the species

The snow leopard is endangered and is listed in the IUCN Red List.

Species and man

The snow leopard has been persecuted by humans in the past because of its beautiful fur. Since 1952, it has been protected in India and the USSR. Currently, hunting it is prohibited everywhere.

Distribution and habitats

The snow leopard lives in the mountainous regions of Asia from Afghanistan to western China, in the Himalayas, Tibet, the mountains of Mongolia, and Altai. This is one of the highest mountain animals. In most areas in summer, the snow leopard stays near alpine meadows along the snow line at an altitude of 3500–4000 m, in the Himalayas – up to 5500–6000 m. In winter, following the ungulates, it descends to 1800 m, and in the Dzungarian Alatau – to 600 m. Everywhere it selects areas where small open plateaus and narrow valleys alternate with steep gorges and piles of rocks.

Appearance and morphology

The snow leopard's body length is 110–125 cm, weight 20–40 kg. If we compare the length of the tail and body, then of all the cats the snow leopard has the longest tail, it makes up more than three-quarters of the body length. The general color tone of the back and sides of the body is grayish-smoky, sometimes slightly yellowish. Against this background there are dark spots with blurred outlines - large ring-shaped and small solid ones. On a small head there are short, wide-set ears and large, high-set eyes. The fur of the animal is very thick, lush and soft. Thick fur grows even between the toes and protects the paw pads from cold in winter and from hot stones in summer.

Snow leopard hunts alone in the world's highest mountains

Lifestyle and social behavior

Animals live alone. They mark their areas with scratch marks and scent marks. The home ranges of males may partially overlap with areas of 1–3 females.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

The basis of the snow leopard's diet is made up of large ungulates: Siberian Mountain goat, argali In the foothills, the snow leopard hunts roe deer and wild boar. Throughout its huge hunting area (up to 100 sq. km), the predator moves, adhering to the same routes, bypassing the pastures of potential victims known to it. Like other high-mountain animals, the snow leopard makes regular seasonal vertical migrations: in the summer it follows ungulates to high-mountain alpine meadows; in spring - into the forest belt; after heavy snowfalls it descends to the foothill plains.

In alpine meadows and rock outcrops, the snow leopard, in addition to ungulates, catches marmots and ground squirrels, snowcocks and chukars. The leopard silently creeps up to its victim and suddenly jumps on it. He can jump up to 10 meters in length and up to 3 meters in height. Having not caught the prey immediately, it stops pursuing after several jumps. Having killed a large animal, the predator drags it under a rock or tree and begins to eat. At one time he eats only 2-3 kg of meat, and throws away the abundant leftovers of the meal and never returns to them.

Vocalization

Snow leopards do not emit a loud calling roar, characteristic of large cats, but purr like small ones. During the rut, animals make sounds similar to a bass meow.

Reproduction and raising offspring

The snow leopard's rut occurs in March - May. The male meets the female only at this time and subsequently does not take part in raising children. After three months, 2–4 kittens are born in a den that the female makes in a cave or in a crevice in a hard-to-reach gorge. Newborns are the size of a small domestic cat, completely helpless, covered with thick brownish fur, mottled with dark solid spots. They open their eyes at the age of one and a half weeks. At the age of two months, kittens begin to leave the den to play at its entrance, from this time the mother gives them meat food. At the age of 3 months, cubs begin to follow their mother, and five- to six-month-old ones already hunt with her. The entire family steals the prey, but the female makes the decisive throw. The animals begin an independent solitary life at the beginning of next spring.

Lifespan

In captivity they live up to 20 years, in nature - less.

Snow leopards have been kept in the Moscow Zoo for over a hundred years. The first snow leopard appeared on display in 1901. This was a gift from the Honorary Trustee of the Zoological Garden K.K. Ushakov. Since then, the zoo's collection has had more than one generation of these amazing cats. There was a time when eight snow leopards were kept on “Cat Row”. Section workers have achieved regular reproduction in these inhabitants snowy expanses, therefore, many of the leopards exhibited at the zoo were of their own breeding. Long years at the “Cat Row” exhibition in the enclosure between Far Eastern leopard and a puma lived a female snow leopard named Olga, born at the Moscow Zoo in 1996. She had kittens only once, but this honored grandmother had a very calm, balanced character, was not at all afraid of visitors and sat near the bars for a long time. She lived for more than 20 years and died at the end of January 2017.

Besides her, we now have three more cats – two males and a female. In 2013, she gave birth to three kittens. Blue-eyed furry babies were surrounded by maternal care from the first minutes. In a secluded den in the interior, the female fed them milk and licked them, carefully protecting them from prying eyes. Even the employees were not allowed to look at the kittens right away. As soon as the babies could be taken away from their mother, who stopped feeding them, they moved to a new place of residence, each to their own. Some - to Finland, to the homeland of their father, one of our two males, some - to conquer the inhabitants of France with their beauty, the third - to Hungary.

The snow leopard, like all predators in the zoo, is fed meat once a day. Various vitamin and mineral mixtures must be added to it to maintain balanced diet, periodically - hydroponic greens. One day a week the snow leopard always has a fasting day, when the cat does not receive food at all. With this diet, predators feel better and do not overeat.

The snow leopard can hardly be called an aggressive animal, but even after living in captivity for a long time, it remains wild and is not tamed. As true inhabitants of the highlands, living near the edge of the ice, snow leopards do not tolerate heat well. Therefore, in the summer, our cats often hide in the shade, and it can be difficult to see them.

Snow Leopard represents the cat family - it is quite graceful and beautiful predator. He is often called the “master of the mountains” and is a permanent resident of the mountain.

Features and habitat of the snow leopard

The animal is solitary by nature, it is not for nothing that it lives in mountainous areas: Western Sayan, Himalayas, Pamir, Altai, Greater Caucasus. In Russia you can find only a few percent of the total number of this amazing animal.

Snow Leopard – snow leopard, it received this name translated from Turkic, snowy. Basically, especially in the warm season, leopards live among bare rocks, and only in winter can they be found in the valley. The animal feels great at high altitudes (6 km). Each of them takes enough large area, and other individuals do not step on it.

Snow leopard description looks very similar to . On average, this animal weighs up to 40 kg (can reach 75 kg in captivity), and its body has a length of 1-1.30 m. The length of the tail is the same as the body.

The male is always larger than the female. Its coat is light gray in color and is all covered with dark gray spots, except for its belly, which is white. This color helps it camouflage while hunting.

Leopard fur is so warm and thick that it perfectly protects the animal in cold weather; it is also located between the toes. The paws are soft and long, they do not sink into the snow, and this allows the animal to hunt successfully. The jump during hunting can reach up to 6 m in length and 3 m in height.

The animal's fur is considered very valuable, so it is actively hunted, which significantly reduces the population. That's why snow leopard in the Red Book takes pride of place. And worst of all, poaching of this magnificent animal continues. A man with a gun is the most important enemy of a predatory animal.

But zoos, on the contrary, are trying their best to increase the population. Surprisingly for a cat breed, leopards rarely growl, and if this happens, it is very quiet. But they meow and purr, like all other predators.

Character and lifestyle of the snow leopard

Oddly enough, the character of the snow leopard is feline. Like many others, he is a loner by nature. He prefers highlands. The area it occupies is quite large (up to 160 km²). Its moulting territory may be crossed by the territories of females. The male mainly moves along the same route.

A snow leopard can build its home (den) in a large nest or in a rock (cave). It is here that he spends a large amount of time, namely his entire bright part.

At night, the snow leopard begins its hunt. It is carried out on the territory marked by him, and only extreme need may force him to go to the next one.

Hunting for the snow leopard is not only a source of food, but also a kind of fun. He can stalk his prey for hours. Leopards have practically no enemies, so they are not at all afraid of night hunting.

Only wild and hungry ones can cause him trouble, but they cannot defeat the snow leopard. The snow leopard does not attack humans; it prefers to move away and not be noticed. But still, isolated cases have been recorded in times of famine for the animal.

If we compare everyone, we can conclude that Snow Leopard, animal friendly enough. He can be trained. Snow leopards love to play, ride in the snow and even slide down hills. And after pleasure, lie down in cozy place and enjoy sun rays.

Nutrition

The snow leopard's diet mainly consists of animals living in the mountains: , . But if it is not possible to obtain such food, he can be content with birds or rodents.

A brave and cunning animal is also able to cope with a huge one. During one hunt, a snow leopard can get several victims at once. He does not eat them on the spot, but moves them to a place convenient for him (tree, rock). One animal wild cat enough for a few days.

IN summer period Snow leopards, in addition to meat, can feast on vegetation. The leopard does not eat everything that he managed to get for “dinner”. He needs about 2-3 kilograms to get enough. In times of famine, a predatory animal can hunt domestic animals.

Reproduction and lifespan

The mating season for snow leopards begins in the spring. At this time, the male creates sounds similar to purring and, thus, attracts the female. After fertilization, the leopard leaves the female.

Pictured is a snow leopard cub

The gestation period for a female lasts 3 months. Before the appearance of the "leopard" future mom prepares the lair. Most often it is located in a hard-to-reach place, among rocks. To keep the “house” warm, the female tears out the fur from herself and lines the bottom of the den with it.

At one time, a female leopard can bring up to 5 kittens. Their size is the same as that of a regular kitten, and they weigh about 500 g. In blind kittens, their eyes begin to see after 5-6 days. Already on the 10th day of life they begin to crawl.

After 60 days, the babies slowly crawl out of the den, but only to fool around near the entrance. Snow Leopard, Pictures which is available on the Internet, in at a young age very funny.

Until 2 months of age, babies feed on milk, and then caring mother begins to feed them meat. At 5 months, the young generation goes hunting with the female. The prey is hunted down by the whole family, but the mother will attack first.

The female teaches her cubs everything, including hunting and taking care of them herself. The male has no part in this. At the age of one year, the young leopards already become independent and retire.

On average, snow leopards live about 14 years, but in captivity they can live up to 20. Several thousand snow leopards live in zoos and successfully breed there.

The snow leopard has every right to bear the title of “master of the mountains.” After all, he lives in this area, gives birth to cubs there, and hunts. He himself becomes a symbol of peace and life in the mountains of Central Asia. Asian peoples call this beast differently. For example, the residents of Tuva call it irbish, in Semirechye it is ilbers. Translated from Turkic, snow leopard means snow cat. exact specification animal.

Appearance of a snow leopard

Snow leopard habitat

This mysterious, solitary animal lives in harsh environments that suit its character. Main areas:

Altai,
Tien Shan,
Western Sayan,
Pamir,
Himalayas,
Hindu Kush,
Greater Caucasus.

In summer, it is time for grazing large cattle, the snow leopard can go down to alpine meadows and go to the forest zone.

Leopard population problems

Unfortunately, the snow leopard is a rare species. He needs attention additional measures to protect the population. Hunting for this animal is primarily due to its beautiful, valuable fur. Light fur with beautiful spots costs a lot of money and is sold mainly on the black market. Countries where the snow leopard's habitat is located take the animal under protection and issue shooting bans. But, despite such measures, murder rare representative feline breeding continues.
The attention of conservationists to the leopard population is gradually bearing fruit; the number of snow leopards is increasing at a slight pace. Zoos also play a major positive role in the conservation of the snow leopard, where specialists achieve success in breeding animals.
To preserve the population, the snow leopard is listed in the International Red Book.

Character traits

Behavior during hunting

Leopards hunt alone and mainly on their own territory. And only when in great need do they look for food outside. A pair of snow leopards on the hunt - a male and a female. Predators remember the pastures they are used to for walking livestock, the location of water sources, and check them while walking around their area. IN summer months the animal can go to high-mountain meadows where artiodactyls graze. And in the spring his path goes into the forest. The snow leopard has great patience to sit in ambush for hours, guarding its prey on a rock, and then jumping onto it from high stones. A leopard's jump can reach up to 6 meters in length and up to 3 meters in height. This hunter walks without fear along narrow ledges of rocks, right above the abyss. He sees his victims like an experienced sniper, determining the distance from afar.

Snow leopard nutrition

The brave and fast snow leopard preys on a variety of animals, birds, and sometimes, under very difficult seasonal conditions, mice. A predator can hunt in a wide variety of terrain, which is determined by its personal territory. It can be mountains, meadows, steppe expanses, or a river bank.

The main summer diet of the snow leopard is sheep and mountain goats. And also these are smaller animals - gophers, for example. A large cat can cope with a huge yak, because in hunting it shows considerable ingenuity, dexterity and courage.
The winter menu includes moose, roe deer, deer and even aggressive wild boars. If there is no big catch, hares and marmots are caught for lunch. Birds such as partridges also fall into the teeth of leopards. Mice also become the subject of hunting.
Leopard is a famous hunter who is not content with just one victim. If possible, the animal kills several large animals at once in one hunt. There are cases when a predator killed up to 8 sheep in one attack; this was very serious damage to the flock. The snow leopard does not eat its lunch at the hunting site. He drags the carcass to a secluded corner, somewhere under a tree or under a rock. And then he just starts eating meat. One large victim will last this cat for several days (3-4). These hunting and feeding features make the snow leopard significantly different from other large representatives of the cat family.

Reproduction of snow leopards

The female and male are ready to give birth to babies within 2-3 years, but cubs are not born to the same female every year, which is noteworthy. Usually the female and male meet in May-June, then the father does not take any further part in the life of his children. All prenatal worries are the problem of the female; she makes a warm lair somewhere in deep caves. He is looking for a place where no one will disturb the kids or attack them. The female insulates the bottom of the den with her fur.

). Today we will tell you a little and show you a lot about an amazing, graceful and deadly animal, about which little is known, because it lives Snow Leopard high in the mountains, where normal researchers don’t go :)

The snow leopard is a predator of the cat family. Its other names are ibris, snow leopard. The snow leopard is one of the highest mountain animals. The snow leopard lives in the mountains of the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Tien Shan, Altai and Western Sayan, Greater Caucasus and adjacent mountain ranges. In most areas, the snow leopard stays in the summer near alpine meadows along the snow line. In winter, following the ungulates, it descends.

The snow leopard is mainly active at dusk, but sometimes during the day. He hunts most of the time before sunset and in the morning at dawn. In the south of its range, for example, in the Himalayas, the snow leopard goes out hunting only before sunset. During the day, snow leopards mainly rest, sleep, and lie on the rocks.

The snow leopard makes its lair in caves and rock crevices, among rocky heaps, often under an overhanging slab and in other similar places where it hides during the day. Often the snow leopard occupies the same den for several years in a row. In the Kyrgyz Alatau there are known cases when snow leopards were used for daytime roosting large nests of black vultures, located on low-growing junipers.

A number of subspecies of snow leopard are known. They differ from each other in basic color, spotting and size. Males are usually larger, more massive, stronger than their fellow tribesmen. Adult males weigh from 65 to 75 kg. Body length - up to 2.1 m. The tail (3/7 of the total length) is thick, covered with thick hair.

The snow leopard's vision is well developed and sharp. Distinctive feature compared to others big cats: The limbs of the snow leopard are relatively short. The paws of a snow leopard resemble the paws of a lynx and, thanks to the special structure of their feet, allow them to walk through deep snow without falling into it. The paw muscles are very strong.

However, the snow leopard is poorly adapted to moving through deep, loose snow cover. In areas where there is loose snow, snow leopards mainly trample permanent paths along which they move for a long time.

Interesting fact: the long and mobile tongue of the snow leopard is equipped on the sides with special tubercles, which are covered with keratinized skin and allow the meat to be separated from the skeleton of the victim. These bumps also help with "washing".

The tail is very long, exceeding three-quarters of the body length, covered long hair and therefore it seems very thick (visually its thickness is almost equal to the thickness of the snow leopard’s forearm). Serves as a balancer when jumping.

The snow leopard leads a mostly solitary lifestyle. An individual site is approximately 160 km2. The home ranges of males may partially overlap with the areas of 1-3 females. Favorite places The habitat of the snow leopard is rocky areas of the mountains, piles of stones, screes, where there is usually little snow - it is blown away by the winds, it is easier to hide from bad weather, find a place for an ambush, and hide from enemies. Here the animal also makes a lair, choosing a suitable cave, crevice or stone canopy, and sometimes even old vulture nests on low trees. He spends daylight hours in these shelters, and at dusk he goes out hunting. The leopard is very attached to his “home”, although when hunting he wanders very far from it.

The snow leopard's fur is very long, thick, fluffy, with a thick undercoat. Serves as excellent protection from the cold in harsh conditions climatic conditions. Thick fur grows even between the snow leopard’s toes and protects the paw pads from the cold in winter and from hot stones in summer.

The snow leopard regularly makes the rounds of its hunting area, visiting winter pastures and camps of wild ungulates. At the same time, he moves, adhering to the same routes. When going around pastures or descending from the upper belt of mountains to lower areas, the snow leopard always follows a path that usually follows a ridge or along a river or stream. The length of such a detour is usually long, so the snow leopard reappears in one place or another once every few days.

The snow leopard is a very good hunter. For him, hunting serves not only as a means of obtaining food, but also as fun. The snow leopard spends the day either in the den or near the den. At dusk he goes out hunting. A snow leopard can watch its prey for hours in ambush on a rock or under a rock. He sneaks up on her unnoticed and jumps with lightning speed. He often uses high stones for this, so that with an unexpected jump from above he can throw his prey to the ground and kill it. He can jump up to 6 meters in length and 2.5-3 meters in height. He walks without fear along the rocky ledges above the abyss and attacks his prey with sniper precision. Having not caught the prey immediately, it stops pursuing after several jumps.

Leopards love to play and love to wallow in the snow. Having played out, they often slide down a steep hill on their backs, and at the bottom they quickly turn over and fall into a snowdrift on all four paws. After playing or hunting, they make themselves comfortable and bask in the sun.

The snow leopard is rutting in early spring. The female does not produce offspring every year. Pregnancy in a female lasts 90 days. The female prefers to set up her lair in hard-to-reach places: in crevices, caves or other places where they will not be disturbed by potential enemies. The bottom of the den is lined with wool and undercoat, which the female rips out. During one litter, the female brings from one to five kittens. Kittens are born blind. Kittens' eyes open on days 5-6 of life. At 10 days of age, kittens begin to crawl, and at two months of age, they begin to leave the den, just to play at its entrance. From this time on, the mother begins to give them meat food. Aged three months kittens begin to follow their mother. At 5-6 months, snow leopard kittens are already hunting with their mother. The whole family sneaks up on the prey, but the female makes the decisive throw.

So, the snow leopard is not a dangerous predator for humans, it is very beautiful and quite rare...

Based on materials from http://petland.org.ua/mode-article/pge-284.html

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