The snow leopard is known and prized for its thick beautiful fur. Their fur helps them camouflage themselves from their prey. Their shoulder height is 2 feet, and they range from 5-7.5 feet long including the 40 inch tail. And they weigh from 77-121 pounds, yet the females are 30% smaller than the males. Its hard to determine the lifespan of the snow leopard but in captivity they have been known to live up to 21 years. Snow leopards usually eat wild sheep and goats, but they have been known to eat smaller animals such as rodents, hares, and game birds. Very rare in most of their range, an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 snow leopards are left in the wild, with 600-700 in zoos around the world.
Snow leopards are found at altitudes between 9800 and 17,000 feet in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. Their territory spans from Afghanistan to Kazakstan and Russia in the north to India and China in the east. China contains about 60% of snow leopard habitat. They have already disappeared from certain parts of Mongolia, which is part of their historic range.
Snow leopards are threatened for a few reasons, there is a high demand for their coats, so they are illegally hunted for the fur trade. The pelts are a sought-after commodity in places like Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia where they are turned into coats and other garments. Snow leopard bones and body parts are also used for traditional Asian medicine. Also there is an increased conflict with humans when snow leopards attack livestock during times when their natural prey is scarce.
HELP THE SNOW LEOPARDS!
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