Snow Leopards - Coat
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Photo source:
Wildlife On Easy Street © 1992-2003
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The Snow Leopards have a thick wooly fur coat that can be white in winter and yellow-gray in the summer with dark rosettes and spots. The spotted white coat serves as a wonderful winter camouflage and helps to keep the cat warm in winter and cool during the summer. Actually the general ground coloration of the cats is gray, with brownish or yellow tinges on its flanks and lighter, usually white, on the belly, chest and chin.
Snow Leopards are also protected from the cold by a dense wooly under-fur. That's why they can survive even in the commonly bitter cold weather characteristic of its mountainous habitat. The tail serves two purposes: to keep balance and to protect it from the cold by wrapping the tail around its body while resting,
The head is round with small ears and a distinctive heavy brow, which is comparatively small for the body size, and which can be up to 1.3 meters length and weigh up to around 70kg. The long tail helps the cat balance itself as it moves over rugged and often snowy terrain. The powerful limbs of the snow leopard are relatively short for its body size and are supported by large, powerful paws.
Snow Leopards - Reproduction
Snow Leopards become sexually mature at 2-3 years of age and mate between January and mid-March time frames. There are two or three cubs in a litter. They are born 90-103 days later in well-hidden and inaccessible dens that is built by their mother beneath rocks or in rocky crevices. A gestation period is of approximately 98 days.
The cubs weigh between 320-708g at birth - have a daily average weight gain of approximately 48g per day and stay with their mothers until they are over 18 months. The young are born in late spring or early summer. Just like newborn kittens, Snow Leopards are blind and open their eyes only after a week or more, but by the time they are two months old, they are very active. They remain with their mother for the first 18-22 months of their lives.
The female Snow Leopard is ready to breed just before it is three years old and will produce two or three young every other year. At the age of two years the cubs become independent and leave their mother.
As these are solitary animals, they usually hunt alone and live alone. Males' territories do not overlap whereas females' territories may overlap and each male's territory overlaps with those of some females. When the winters are especially harsh, which is a very usual case, the cubs are born in the spring; thus, the animals can have enough food.
Snow Leopards - Interesting Facts
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Photo source:
Wildlife On Easy Street © 1992-2003
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Snow Leopards are very good jumpers, they have long strong hind legs and shortened front limbs. Snow Leopards are able to leap 20 to 50 feet through the air, or, without difficulty, straight up into a tree or onto a cliff, simply to perch and rest.
Snow Leopards - Links-Links
Animals for Sale - There you may buy an animal, prices, and pictures of Snow Leopard.
Big Cat Rescue - Includes photographs and information about the diet, habitat, enemies, and weight of these endangered felines
Bronxzoo.com - Features varied animals and educational exhibits. Includes Snow Leopard web cam, photo gallery, and tour of the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit.
Capronparkzoo - Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia ). Discover the characteristics, anatomy, distribution, habitat, diet, behavior, habits, and species of the animal. Read on black (panthers), clouded, and snow leopards.
Dspace - Information about distribution, appearance, diet, habitat, ect. All about Snow Leopards.
Dublinzoo - Snow Leopards in the Zoos.
Endangered Snow Leopard - Offers other alternative names common to leopards, including descriptive information, biological facts, and additional references to related sites.
Leopard- Lists information about the habitat, behavior, and life cycle of this wild cat.
Leopards Cats- Includes photographs and information about the diet, habitat, enemies, and weight of these endangered felines.
Miller Park Zoo - Features red wolves, bald eagles, snow leopards, sun bears, Wallaby Walk-About, and ZooLab. Site includes general information, hours of operation, staff and volunteers, and opportunities.
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Photo source:
Catallarchy.net
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Moonridgezoo.org - Extensive information about snow leopards, including online resource list and an image gallery.
Petsandvets.com - Endangered Snow Leopards. Brief information.
Ravenadventures - The Altai Snow Leopard Expedition.
Realms of the snow leopard - Extensive information about snow leopards, including online resource list and an image gallery.
Resourceshimalaya - Snow Leopards are endangered in Nepal.
RP_Zoo_Snoe Leopards - Brief information about Snow Leopards. Habitat, behavior, diet, etc.
Ryo_gecko's Shrine to Snow Leopards - A site with pictures and information about
Snow Leopard Conservancy - Includes news, descriptions of projects, and close-up video of wild snow leopards.
Save Snow Leopards - Section Topics Saving the Snow Leopard.
Sazoo-aq.org - Learn about the snow leopard's behavior as well as its prey.
SFzoo_Snow Leoprads - Pictures, description, social behavior, diet, reproduction, etc.
Snow Leopards including where they are from and behavior characteristics.
Snow World - Information about Snow Leopards.
Snowleopard.org - This site is dedicated to the conservation of the snow leopard this site focuses onto the mountain ecosystem, the needs of the local people and the environment as well. Provides descriptions of Chitral Gol (Pakistan) and Hemis (India) National Parks as well as Qomolangma Nature Reserve (Tibet).
