This is the only large cat that lives high in the mountains, where eternal snow rests silently. No wonder the semi-official title of "Snow Leopard" was given to climbers who managed to conquer the five legendary seven-thousander mountains of the Soviet Union.
Description of the snow leopard
Uncia uncia, which lives in the highlands of Central Asia, is also called the snow leopard or snow leopard.. Russian merchants borrowed the last word in the original transcription of “irbiz” from Turkic hunters back in the 17th century, but only a century later this beautiful beast was “introduced” to Europeans (so far only in the picture). This was done in 1761 by Georges Buffon, who accompanied the drawing with a remark that Once (irbis) is trained for hunting and is found in Persia.
A scientific description from the German naturalist Johann Schreber appeared somewhat later, in 1775. Over the following centuries, the snow leopard was studied by many eminent zoologists and travelers, including our Nikolai Przhevalsky. Paleogenetics, for example, found that the snow leopard belongs to the ancient species that appeared on the planet about 1.4 million years ago.
Appearance
This is an imposing cat, reminiscent of a leopard, but not as large and more stocky. There are other signs that distinguish the snow leopard from the snow leopard: a long (by 3/4 of the body) thick tail and a peculiar pattern of rosettes and spots. An adult snow leopard grows up to 2–2.5 m (including tail) with a height at the withers of about 0.6 m. Males are always larger than females and weigh 45–55 kg, while the weight of the latter varies in the range of 22–40 kg.
The snow leopard has a small, rounded head with short, rounded ears. There are no tassels on them, and in winter the ears are almost buried in thick fur. The snow leopard has expressive eyes (to match the coat) and 10-centimeter vibrissae. Relatively short limbs rest on wide massive paws with retractable claws. Where the snow leopard passed, there are round footprints without marks from the claws. Due to the dense and high hair, the tail looks thicker than it is, and is used by the snow leopard as a balance when jumping.
This is interesting! The snow leopard has unusually thick and soft fur, which warms the animal in harsh winters. The length of the hair on the back reaches 55 mm. In terms of coat density, the snow leopard is close not to large, but to small cats.
The back and upper zones of the sides are painted in light gray (tending to white), but the belly, the back of the limbs and the sides from below are always lighter than the back. The unique pattern is created by the combination of large ring-shaped rosettes (in which smaller spots sit) and solid black/dark gray spots. The smallest spots adorn the head of the snow leopard, the larger ones are distributed over the neck and legs. On the back of the back, the spotting turns into striping when the spots merge with each other, forming longitudinal stripes. On the second half of the tail, the spots usually close into an incomplete ring, but the tip of the tail is black on top.
Winter fur is usually grayish, with a smoky patina (more pronounced on the back and over the sides), sometimes with an admixture of slight yellowness. This coloration is designed to mask the snow leopard among the ice, gray rocks and snow. By summer, the main background of the fur fades almost to white, on which dark spots appear more clearly. Young snow leopards are always more intensely colored than their older relatives.
Character and lifestyle
This is a territorial animal, prone to loneliness: only females with growing kittens form related groups. Each snow leopard has a personal area, whose area (in different locations of the range) ranges from 12 km² to 200 km². Animals mark the boundaries of their personal territory with scent marks, but do not try to defend it in fights. The snow leopard usually hunts at dawn or before sunset, less often during the day. It is known that snow leopards living in the Himalayas go hunting strictly at dusk.
During the day, animals rest on the rocks, often using the same den for several years. The lair is often arranged in rock crevices and caves, among rocky placers, preferring to hide under overhanging slabs. Eyewitnesses said that they saw snow leopards in the Kyrgyz Alatau, reclining on undersized junipers in the nests of black vultures.
This is interesting! The irbis periodically bypasses the personal area, checking the camps / pastures of wild ungulates and following familiar routes. Usually his path (when descending from the peaks to the plain) runs along a mountain range or along a stream / river.
Due to the considerable length of the route, the detour takes several days, which explains the rare appearances of the animal at one point. In addition, deep and loose snow slows down its movements: in such places, the snow leopard paves permanent paths.
How long do irbis live
It has been established that in the wild, snow leopards live for about 13 years, and almost twice as long in zoological parks. The average life expectancy in captivity is 21 years, but a female snow leopard has survived to 28 years of age.
Range, habitats
The irbis is recognized as an exclusively Asian species, whose range (with a total area of 1.23 million km²) passes through the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia. The zone of vital interests of the snow leopard includes such countries as:
- Russia and Mongolia;
- Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan;
- Uzbekistan and Tajikistan;
- Pakistan and Nepal;
- China and Afghanistan;
- India, Myanmar and Bhutan.
Geographically, the range extends from the Hindu Kush (in the east of Afghanistan) and the Syr Darya to Southern Siberia (where it covers Altai, Tannu-Ola and Sayan), crossing the Pamirs, Tien Shan, Karakorum, Kunlun, Kashmir and the Himalayas. In Mongolia, the snow leopard is found in the Mongolian / Gobi Altai and in the Khangai mountains, in Tibet - up to the north of Altunshan.
Important! Russia accounts for only 2–3% of the world range: these are the northern and northwestern regions of the species. In our country, the total area of \u200b\u200bsettlement of the snow leopard is approaching 60 thousand km². The animal can be found in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Tuva, Buryatia, Khakassia, the Altai Republic and in the mountains of the Eastern Sayan (including the Munku-Sardyk and Tunkinsky Goltsy ridges).
Irbis is not afraid of high mountains and eternal snows, choosing open plateaus, gentle/steep slopes and small valleys with alpine vegetation, which are interspersed with rocky gorges and heaps of stones. Sometimes animals adhere to more even areas with shrubs and scree that can hide from prying eyes. Snow leopards mostly live above the forest line, but occasionally enter the forests (usually in winter).
The diet of the snow leopard
The predator easily cracks down on prey three times its weight. The constant gastronomic interest of the snow leopard is caused by ungulates:
- markhorn and Siberian mountain goats;
- blue sheep;
- takins and containers;
- argali and gorals;
- musk deer and deer;
- serow and
Irbis hunts alone, watching for ungulates near watering places, salt licks and paths: attacking from above, from a cliff, or creeping up from behind shelters. At the end of summer, in autumn and with the onset of winter, snow leopards go hunting in groups consisting of a female and her brood. A predator jumps out of an ambush when the distance between it and the prey is reduced enough to reach it with several powerful jumps. If the object escapes, the snow leopard loses interest in it immediately or falls behind after running 300 meters.
Large ungulate snow leopards are usually grabbed by the throat, and then strangle or break the neck. The carcass is dragged under a rock or into a safe shelter, where you can safely dine. When sated, it throws its prey, but sometimes it lies nearby, driving away scavengers, for example,. On the territory of Russia, the diet of the snow leopard is predominantly made up of mountain goats, deer, argali, and roe deer.
Many animals have disappeared from the face of the earth forever. They are considered extinct, but there are those that are on the verge of extinction - these are rare animals. They are listed in the Red Book and their extermination is punishable by law. One of these animals is the irbis, or in other words, the snow leopard.
The snow leopard is a large predator of the cat family. The habitat of these cats is Central Asia (China, Nepal, Mongolia, India and other countries). This species is difficult to study for scientists, because. the snow leopard lives in hard-to-reach places - the Himalayan, Caucasian mountains, Altai. Therefore, it is impossible to say with accuracy what the population of the snow leopard is at the moment. According to 2003 data, there were 4 - 7 thousand individuals.
The snow leopard is slightly smaller than an ordinary leopard in size, but very similar to it. Therefore, the cat is often called a snow leopard. The very name of the animal "irbis" comes from the Turkic languages. In different nations, the beast is called differently:
- irbish,
- ilbers,
- irbiz.
Due to the habitat, the animal's coat is very thick and long. The color is light gray with dark spots - this helps the cat to camouflage well. The irbis is less strong than the leopard, but it has a very flexible body, because living in the mountains, getting food for oneself there requires great dexterity. The beast feeds on mountain sheep and goats, elks, wild boars, hares, ground squirrels. In hungry years, it can also hunt mice and birds. It does not eat its prey on the spot, but drags it to a secluded place.
In the natural environment, snow leopards are ready for breeding as early as 2-3 years. The female gives birth to 1-5 cubs. The female is looking for a place for childbirth, usually these are caves, which she insulates and where no one will disturb the kittens. The upbringing of kittens is entirely on the mother, the father does not take part in this. The female teaches them to hunt from 3 months, and at the age of 1 year they are already independent animals. At this time, snow leopards leave their mother. Cats live alone and meet only to mate.
In the 19th century, the snow leopard was hunted for its beautiful and valuable fur. Cats were also caught for zoos, where conditions are not always ideal. This led to a decrease in the animal population. Hunting is currently prohibited. Active conservation measures are being taken.
Option 2
Snow leopard, irbis has another name - snow leopard. Snow leopard - belongs to the cat family, the only representative of its kind, a predator, as well as a mammal. It is intermediate between large cats and very small ones. It was included in the Red Book in all those countries where it lives.
Irbis is a relatively small animal, its weight reaches no more than 55 kg, rare individuals weigh more than this mark. This predator has an elongated and flexible body, it has a long elastic tail. The length of the predator from the forehead to the tip of the tail is about 2 meters to 2 m. 30 cm. Females are much smaller than males.
The habitat of the snow leopard is within Central and Central Asia, as well as in the region of Southern Siberia. Sometimes traces of these predatory cats are found in the mountains 5 km from sea level, mostly the snow leopard lives 2-3 km from sea level.
The color of the snow leopards is quite light smoky gray, sometimes brownish, its body is covered with solid and ring-shaped dark spots. The pattern of spots is somewhat pale against the general background. The spots vary in size depending on where on the body they are located. The tone of the color changes depending on the time of the year.
The rut of the snow leopards comes in the spring. The female bears offspring for 3-4 months, for one litter she brings up to 5 kittens, but this is a rarity, usually 2-3 kittens in a litter. The breeding rate of these predators is quite low, because females do not participate in the rut every year. Kittens at birth weigh no more than 0.5 kg, blind and defenseless. Somewhere up to the age of one and a half months, the cubs feed only on mother's milk. By July, the cubs will be able to follow their mother during the hunt. Females are engaged in raising kittens for quite a long time period. Sexually mature snow leopards are considered in the region of 2 - 3 years.
Irbis are classified as territorial animals, but their territory can extend to 1000 square meters. m. They adhere to a solitary lifestyle and pair up only at the time of the rut. They defend their territory not very aggressively, the possession of one male can overlap with the possessions of 1-3 females. Irbis makes constant rounds of his possessions, he walks along pre-laid paths. Rarely, that can cause a predator to change its route. It takes 2-3 days to get around all the properties. They also remember to mark their territory.
The snow leopard has practically no competitors in its habitat; it has become the top of the food chain. Often he attacks and defeats an animal that exceeds him by 2-3 times. Irbis hunt alone, except for a mother with cubs. They hunt stealthily, stalking and waiting for their prey. The highest peak of activity falls on twilight, it is rare to see a snow leopard during the day. Forcing the snow leopard to approach a human dwelling and attack livestock can only be forced by hungry years. The main diet of these predators are various ungulates, as well as hares, birds, marmots. Plant foods are also consumed, but only during the warm period of time.
The population of snow leopards is inexorably rushing down, very few individuals remain in their natural habitat. Poaching is open not only for snow leopards, but also for their diet, predators also suffer greatly from this.
Andreas Vesalius - an outstanding Italian natural scientist who made many discoveries in the field of biology, was the personal physician of Charles V, then Philip II.
This plant in its appearance resembles a small piece of cotton wool, its white plant fiber in chemical composition almost entirely consists of cellulose (the rest is mineral impurities).
Translated from the Turkic dialect snow leopard(or irbiz, irbish, irviz) is translated as "snow". This royal noble beast is rightfully called the "master of the mountains."
Features and habitat of the snow leopard
Irbis is a rather large cat, with very beautiful thick fur, of a silver-smoky color, the coat brightens on the sides, turning white when moving to the belly. Sometimes a slight, barely perceptible yellowness can be seen.
Large black rings-rosettes, small spots and specks are scattered all over the body. This color plays the role of a kind of camouflage: the predator perfectly camouflages itself on rocky slopes, among snow and ice, becoming invisible to its future prey.
An interesting feature in description of the irbis: his chic long tail will be the envy of most cats - its length is equal to the length of the body and is more than 1 meter. The average height is about 60 centimeters, while the females are smaller than the males. Otherwise, individuals of the opposite sex differ little in appearance.
See snow leopard in the photo much easier than in wildlife: the beast prefers to lead a secretive lifestyle, and irbis lives usually in hard-to-reach places: in gorges, on high rocks, near high-mountain alpine meadows.
In the warm season, it can conquer peaks over 5 thousand meters high. In winter, it often descends in search of prey. This is the only alpine among the entire cat family.
The elusive nature of the predator, however, did not save him from a sad fate: the most beautiful appearance of the snow leopard played a cruel joke on him - the beast too often became a victim of poachers who hunted for fur.
Now snow leopard rare animal, in some areas only 1-2 individuals survived. Irbis is included in the list of endangered animals of the Red Book. Habitat: mountain ranges of Mongolia, Tibet, Himalayas, Pamir, Tien Shan, Kazakhstan. In Russia - the highlands of Altai.
The nature and lifestyle of the snow leopard
Irbis - animal predominantly nocturnal, during the day he sleeps in a shelter: in a cave or on a tree. Often can sleep for a day or more. Go hunting at dusk or in the dark.
He avoids people, at a meeting he would rather hide than attack. Only those infected with rabies can provide a serious danger to a person.
Thanks to its wide developed paws, it moves excellently along the rocks, it can overcome even very steep slopes and hard-to-reach narrow rocky ledges. Dexterously moves through deep snow and ice.
Lives mostly alone, occasionally unites in groups for hunting. Basically, during the periods of reproduction and rearing of young animals. One animal occupies an area of more than a hundred square kilometers.
Can tolerate the neighborhood of females, but not other males. If there is enough food, it does not move away from the lair for long distances, otherwise, it can leave the house for tens of kilometers.
Snowy are quite playful, often somersaulting in the snow, they like to soak up the sun. The voice of the snow leopard is more like a cat's purr. This beast growls muffled, not loudly. Aggression is expressed by hissing, rumbling.
Snow leopard nutrition
snow leopard irbis an excellent hunter: thanks to their keen sense of smell and sharp eyesight, they easily track down prey even in complete darkness. It can catch the victim in two ways: it either silently sneaks up and grabs at the last moment with its claws and teeth, or it waits for the moment and attacks, making a deft and measured jump at a distance of 5 to 10 meters. It can watch for prey in cover for quite some time.
Irbis is a strong and powerful animal, it is able to cope alone with such large ungulates as yak, roe deer, mountain goat, argali, deer. Can take down a boar or in rare cases even a bear.
If large animals are not available , the irbis feeds smaller ones, . Often they attack livestock, especially in the winter hungry time. One large prey is enough for him for several days.
Reproduction and life span of the snow leopard
In early spring, in the habitats of snow leopards, you can hear booming night songs, somewhat reminiscent of the singing of March cats, only more sonorous. So the male calls the female.
They meet only for the mating period, further worries about raising offspring fall on the female. Young animals are ready for breeding at the age of 2-3 years. The female bears offspring for a little more than 3 months, kittens are born in early summer. From two to five babies appear in a reliable warm shelter.
Kittens are born, like most cats, blind and helpless. The size of a small home. They begin to see in 5-6 days. At the age of about two months, more and more often they get out of the nest to play in the sun. At the same time, the mother begins to feed them with small mammals.
Young snow leopards play a lot with each other and with their mother, hunt for her tail or catch up with each other with a funny hiss. These games are very important for the further development of kids: this is how they prepare for adulthood, learn hunting skills.
Gradually, the mother teaches the kids to hunt: by the age of six months, they spend a lot of time hunting down prey together. The female accompanies the grown children for quite a long time: in general, they are ready for adulthood by the next spring.
But there are cases when they live and hunt together and up to 2-3 years. The life expectancy of the snow leopard in the wild reaches 20 years, in zoos they can live longer.
The first snow leopards appeared in the Moscow Zoo more than 100 years ago, in 1871. At first, employees faced a lot of difficulties in keeping this wild animal: snow leopards died from diseases and did not reproduce.
Currently, these rare species are successfully kept and bred in many zoos in Europe, which helps to preserve the population of these. Gulya's fully tame snow leopard lives in the Leningrad Zoo.
In the old days, we called the leopard a leopard. But the snow leopard is not a leopard, although it looks like one. The same black spots on a smoky gray skin (sometimes there are also black leopards). But the fur is long and fluffy, especially on the belly, up to twelve centimeters long. Leopard - a resident of the mountains (Altai, Pamir, Tien Shan, Tibet, the Himalayas and the highlands of Mongolia). High mountains - up to two or three thousand meters. And in the summer, following the mountain ungulates, the leopards rise even higher - up to six thousand meters. In the mountains, as you know, it is not hot in summer, and it is completely cool in winter.
The main coat color is light gray, appearing white in contrast with black spots. This coloring perfectly masks the beast in its natural habitat - among dark rocks, stones, white snow and ice. The spots are in the form of rosettes, inside which there may be an even smaller spot. In this respect, the snow leopard is similar to the jaguar. In the area of the head, neck and limbs, the rosettes turn into black strokes. The wool is very thick and long (up to 55 mm) and serves as protection from the cold in harsh climatic conditions. From head to tail, the snow leopard is 140 cm long, the tail itself is 90-100 cm long. If we compare the length of the tail and body, then of all the cats, the snow leopard has the longest tail, it is more than three-quarters of the body length. The tail of the snow leopard serves as a balancer when jumping. The length of the jump during the hunt is up to 14-15 meters. The weight of an adult snow leopard can reach 100 kg.
Snow Leopard. Photo: Mark Kent
The leopard (or irbis, which is the same thing) watches for hours somewhere on a rock or under a rock of mountain turkeys or sheep. But in general, he is a universal hunter: he takes everyone - from mice to yaks sometimes. He does not touch people, and his temper, apparently, is more good-natured than that of a panther and a tiger.
Leopards love to play and wallow in the snow. Having cheered up, they slide off the cliff on their backs, and below they quickly turn over and fall into a snowdrift on all four paws. A fair amount of sybarites. After the morning hunt, after the games, they settle down somewhere comfortable and bask in the sun.
The usual place of residence is rhododendron shrubs, and in some places alpine meadows and bare rocks near the borders of eternal snows. Here they live in pairs - male and female.
In the spring they will have two or four kittens. The lair is in a cozy crevice (it also happens in a nest of vultures on a low tree!). The mother insulates the lair with wool, pulling it from her belly. Other cats, except for the reed cat, do not seem to be capable of such self-sacrifice. Leopard milk is fatty, five times more nutritious than that of a cow. The leopard has a very long and very fluffy tail, like none of the predators. Surprised before; Why does an animal need these excesses? But it turned out that nature did not allow design miscalculations here either. When the female leopard sleeps with her babies, she presses them to her and covers them with her tail from above, like a duvet. After all, where the leopards live, it is very cool, especially at night.
Leopard is a good father, he helps the female to raise children.
In the old leopard, 75 kilograms, large growth and other features, he is close to big cats, but he also has something from small cats. In a good mood, the leopard, for example, purrs (puma and clouded leopard too), but it can also growl. Some zoologists call the clouded leopard, leopard and puma giant small cats.
The socio-economic crisis of recent decades in Russia has greatly influenced the nature and intensity of nature management, which had a dual role for the snow leopard.
On the one hand, due to a decrease in the number of livestock and a decrease in pasture load, the number of the main prey of the snow leopard - the Siberian ibex and the Altai mountain sheep - has increased; on the other hand, with the deterioration of the well-being of the inhabitants, the exploitation of biological resources has increased significantly. The hunting grounds began to be actively used by people who lost their jobs, who mastered the poaching methods of hunting animals, in particular, which is a great danger to snow leopards with nooses. At the same time, snow leopard poaching increased due to increased demand and high prices for skins.
Due to the inaccessibility of habitats and the low density of the species, such important aspects of the biology of the snow leopard as the structure of the range, the ability to disperse, seasonal movements, food and hunting behavior (in particular, the degree of food specialization, including composition and share in the production of domestic animals), population structure, abundance, size of individual plots, daily course, and many others, which makes it difficult to develop adequate conservation measures. This applies to the entire range of the species, and especially to its Russian part.
The snow leopard is brutally exterminated by poachers because of its beautiful skin. It is listed in the Red Book in almost all countries. To date, there are no more than 2,000 individuals of this beautiful predator left in the world.
The snow leopard is one of the most mysterious animals in the world. He moves through the mountains or taiga in search of prey. This is a secretive and cautious beast, a symbol of valor, courage and strength. His image served as a magical amulet that guarded the ancient warriors. Snow leopard hunting is a cynical product of the 20th century.
Irbis are found in the countries of Central Asia, their habitat includes the highest mountain ranges in the world.
The range covers Mongolian, Chinese, Pakistani, Russian lands, Nepal, India and other territories. In Russia, in the south of Siberia, there is the northernmost border of the global range of the snow leopard.
Since 2010, the World Wildlife Fund has been researching this rare animal here.
Wild mountain goats are the main food of the predator. With the onset of summer, after them, the irbis rises to the high plateaus. And in winter it descends from mountain peaks and alpine meadows, covered with a high snow cover, to where a coniferous forest grows.
The snow leopard also attacks marals, but less frequently. In the spring, when food is scarce, he likes to eat marmots. He tries to avoid encounters with bears, but there is evidence of a successful hunt for this animal by two snow leopards.
The wolverine can be considered a food competitor of the snow leopard, because it often takes away its prey, traveling along the same trails. The snow leopard has no natural enemies, so it rarely runs away in times of danger. This leads to sad consequences when meeting with poachers - they can easily shoot a hidden predator.
Varieties of snow leopards
Snow leopards are not usually divided into varieties. Their numbers are too small for that.
There is evidence that the coat color of snow leopards inhabiting southern Transbaikalia contains yellowish and brownish tones, which are uncharacteristic for most individuals.
All snow leopards belong to a separate genus Uncia. They are the only representatives of this genus. Genetic examination showed the kinship of snow leopards with tigers, so they were previously classified as Panthers. However, later it was proved that snow leopards have unique features that distinguish them from other large representatives that are part of the cat family. For example, the snow leopard does not know how to growl, purrs like a domestic cat, lends itself well to training in captivity, and never attacks a person.
Description, size, lifespan
The height of the animal at the withers is about 60 cm, it is squater than its African panther relatives, with which it has a similar genotype. The length of the body with the tail exceeds 2 meters, the maximum weight is about 55 kg.
The snow leopard fur is very beautiful - light smoky, almost white, with dark, annular or solid spots. It is distinguished by its density and softness, it retains heat well in severe snowy winters. The sides, belly and inner surfaces of the limbs are colored lighter than the back.
The male is larger than the female.
Common Scripture:
- convex skull;
- rounded head;
- there is a hyoid bone;
- eyes almond-shaped, small, set wide apart;
- 30 teeth, like most cats;
- small rounded ears without tassels, in winter they are almost invisible because of the long fur;
- slender limbs and wide powerful paws with retractable claws;
- the long tail, exceeding three-quarters of the length of the body, is covered with thick fur, so it appears very thick.
Agile snow leopards are known for their ability to jump a long distance - from 6 to 15 meters. During the jump, they are helped by a long tail, it serves as a "steering wheel" and an effective counterweight.
Lifestyle and social behavior
Irbis are very cautious animals, they go hunting mostly early in the morning or in the evening. Due to the light spotted fur, they almost merge with the surrounding rocks, it is very difficult for a person to notice their presence. During the day, snow leopards can rest in rock crevices or black vulture nests.
Irbis prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle. They mark the boundaries of their territory, leaving special marks on rocks and trees.
The size of the holdings can vary considerably depending on the amount of game available for food. So, in the Himalayas, the personal territory of one snow leopard can be 12 km2, and in areas with a small amount of prey - up to 200 km2.
The snow leopard makes round trips around its hunting grounds, tasting the pastures of wild goats. He prefers to walk always along the same routes, choosing paths that go along the mountain range, along the water stream. In the same place, the beast can be found at certain intervals, necessary for him to pass his entire area.
Reproduction and rearing of offspring
The mating season for snow leopards begins at the end of winter or early spring. After about 3 months, from 1 to 5 cubs are born, usually there are two or three of them.
The female snow leopard gives birth every two years and raises offspring herself.
For a lair, she chooses rocky cracks covered with moss, secluded caves. The weight of newborn babies is up to 500 g, their color is brighter than that of adults, black spots are devoid of a light central part. The eyes of the cubs open on the 6th day after birth. For the first 6 weeks, babies feed on mother's milk, and after two months they already begin to eat solid food.
At the end of summer, the female goes hunting with her cubs. She brings them up for quite a long time, so you can meet several snow leopards in one territory. Her offspring are finally ready for independent existence in the second year after birth.
Are animals listed in the Red Book
People exterminate the snow leopard for profit, and soon these beautiful animals may disappear from the face of the Earth forever. Today, only a few thousand remain.
In the 90s of the 20th century, most snow leopards in Altai lived in the area called the Argut cluster, but by the beginning of the 21st century, snow leopards had practically disappeared from these places. Getting a snow leopard was a great success for local hunters. For one skin, the poacher received an unheard-of fee.
Today, snow leopards are protected by the state. They are listed in the Red Book of the IUCN and the Russian Federation.
About 2 thousand individuals live in various zoos of the world and give offspring. Most of the snow leopards are in Chinese zoos, about three dozen live in Russian ones. However, the Red Data Book and captive breeding do not guarantee the preservation of the snow leopard population from complete destruction as long as there is demand for fur.
An annual international conference is held in Altai to protect the snow leopard. Representatives of the countries where this spotted predator lives gather to discuss the problems of conservation and research of the snow leopard.
In Russia, researchers install camera traps in places where the snow leopard is likely to pass, near stones or rocks that the animal has marked on the border of its territory. After collecting data from camera traps, photographs and videos are processed and carefully studied. This allows you to control the number of snow leopards in a certain area.
Interesting facts about the snow leopard
This beast has a unique appearance and feline habits. Domestic cats love to play with their tails. This is how kittens or adult animals play when they cannot get what they want. The snow leopard has a very long tail and often holds it in its mouth for more than just playing. For example, when he crosses a mountain stream or wants to warm his pink nose from the fierce winter cold. There are funny pictures of snow leopard babies with a tail in their teeth.
In nature, snow leopards live for about 13 years, and in captivity much longer.
A case is known when a female lived up to 28 years in a zoo.
Despite the prohibition of shooting and catching, in the wild, snow leopards often die at the hands of poachers.
Scientists say there is no archaeological evidence of snow leopard hunting. Our distant ancestors idolized these animals, they were considered inviolable. The famous mummy of a noble Scythian woman, who is called the Princess of Ukok, still has snow leopard tattoos on her shoulder. The image of feline predators - tigers, leopards was often found in the Scythian culture. Especially a lot of them are found in Altai - in rock paintings, on household items.
In modern numismatics, the image of a snow leopard can be found on commemorative coins. In 2000, gold and silver coins with the image of an irbis were issued in Russia, in denominations from 25 to 100 rubles.
The snow leopard lives on high mountain plateaus, it is a beautiful and proud animal, it never threatens a person. When meeting without too much fuss, it hides from the eyes of the lucky one, because according to ancient beliefs, meeting with an irbis brings good luck.
