| Appearance | Diet | Distribution | Food chain |
|
The Snow Leopard lives in alpine meadows, treeless rocky mountains and rhododendron forests in Central Asia, extending through 1,230,000 square kilometers. |
 |
|
They weight 35 to 55 Kilograms and are easy to disting because of their beautiful grey with black rings fur, and because of their long tail that can reach up to 90 cm. |
 |
|
Snow Leopards are capable of killing prey up to 3 times their own weight. Their most common prey sources are: wild sheep and goats; pikas; hares; game birds. They kill on the average of 1 large prey item every 10-15 days and stay with the kill for 3-4 days. |
 |
|
The estimated wild population of the Snow Leopard is between 3,500 and 7,000 and in cautivity around 600. Wild Snow Leopards are distibuted thruogh these countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Tibet, India, Kazakhstan, The Kyrgys Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikisan, and Uzbekistan. |
 |
|
Snow leopards are one of the top predators in the high mountain food web of Central Asia. Snow leopards help to keep the ecosystem in balance by preying on Himalayan marmot populations. Are important to the alpine pastureland because their burrowing aerates the soil which, like plowing, helps the grasses grow. The grasses are important to the wild sheep and goats (which are also snow leopard prey) and also to the livestock that mountain people depend upon for their existence.
|
 |