Wild Cats of the World

The Snow Leopard was long considered the only member of the genus Uncia based largely on its relatively unusual, domed skull (compared to other large cats), but genetic analysis demonstrates that it is closely related to the ‘big cats’ and is now classified in the genus Panthera. It is thought to have arisen from an early branching within the lineage and is most closely related to the Tiger, with a common ancestor more than two million years ago, though the relative position of these two species within Panthera is poorly understood. Two Snow Leopard subspecies are sometimes recognised: P. u. uncia (central Asia, north-east to Mongolia and Russia) and P. u. uncioides (western China and Himalayas), based on superficial morphological differences that are unlikely to be meaningful and await genetic analysis.

The Snow Leopard is the smallest member of the genus Panthera, moderately smaller and more lightly built than the Leopard with dense, long fur that gives the impression of a much larger animal. The deep chest and forequarters are muscular, and the legs are relatively short and robust with very large feet. The tubular tail is thickly muscled and proportionally the longest of any felid, 75−90 per cent of the head-body length. It is wrapped around the body to insulate against extreme cold and is used for balance during hunts. The head is small, broad and rounded, with a short muzzle and high domed forehead caused by enlarged nasal cavities believed to assist with breathing at high altitude. The Snow Leopard’s legendary fur is extremely dense and long, up to 5cm on the back and sides and as long as 12cm on the underparts in winter. The fur provides excellent insulation; even in low temperatures, the Snow Leopard will rest on its back with the belly exposed to dissipate heat.

The Snow Leopard’s background colour is dark cream to smoky grey with yellowish-cream to crisp white underparts. The body is marked with large dark grey or black open blotches, often with fuzzy edges, graduating to more defined, bold open blotches running in rows along the back and tail. There are smaller solid black blotches on the lower legs and small black spots on the head, neck and shoulders. The coat pattern is unique to individuals and useful for identification (for example, from camera-trap photos), though the markings appear less crisp in the long winter coat and individual recognition is more problematic. There is apparently little regional variation in coat colour and markings. There are no records of melanistic or albino Snow Leopards.

Similar species The Snow Leopard is unmistakable. Leopards from central Asia in pale, long winter coats are sometimes mistaken for Snow Leopards (chiefly in fur markets).

The Snow Leopard is restricted to 12 countries in central Asia, from southern Russia south-west to Uzbekistan; south-east through Mongolia to Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan, China; and across broad arcs along the Himalayas, Tien Shan and Kunlun mountain ranges that cross China to adjacent countries. The species’ distribution closely follows the world’s highest mountain ranges including the Altai, Tien Shan, Kunluns, Himalayas, Karakoram,

Hindu Kush and Pamirs. An estimated 65 per cent of current Snow Leopard range falls inside China. With international borders falling along high mountain ranges, China shares borders and transboundary Snow Leopard populations with all other range countries except Uzbekistan. Anecdotal reports include the northernmost tip of Kachin State, northern Burma as Snow Leopard range but there are no confirmed records from the country.

Snow Leopards are dependent on alpine and subalpine habitats and always occur in close association with very rugged, rocky terrain. In most of the range, they occur in high mountainous habitat characterised by steep cliffs, deep ravines and high ridges. They use open alpine meadows and alpine scrub, and largely avoid barren land, glaciers and habitats lacking cover. In Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau, China, Snow Leopards occur in areas of open arid steppe and desert with isolated and relatively low, flat mountainous areas; they are recorded moving up to 80km across wide open expanses between massifs. In some of the range, for example parts of the Chinese Tien Shan, Pakistani Hindu Kush and Russian Altai, mountainous habitats include stands of open coniferous forest in which Snow Leopards occur but they typically avoid dense forest. Snow Leopards cope well with deep snow but in the highest regions they usually spend winters at lower elevations, following the altitudinal movements of ungulates seeking shelter and browse. The Snow Leopard is mostly found at elevations of 3,000−5,500m except in the northern part of the range where they occur much lower, for example at 900−2,400m in southern Mongolia.

The Snow Leopard’s range closely overlaps the distribution of various species of mountain ungulates that constitute the most important prey. They are capable of taking prey weighing up to at least 120kg and regularly take adult males of their largest ungulate prey. The diet is typically dominated by one or two large ungulate species, which varies depending on the region and its prey composition. Across the range, the most important species are Asiatic Ibex (or Siberian Ibex), Blue Sheep (or Bharal) and Argali. The ranges of these species individually (in the case of Argali) or collectively overlap that of the Snow Leopard’s almost exactly. The Himalayan Tahr is also a major prey species where it occurs in the Himalayas from Sikkim to Kashmir. Other ungulate prey includes Markhor, Urial, Himalayan Musk Deer, Roe Deer and rarely gazelles, Eurasian Wild Boar and Asiatic Wild Ass (almost certainly only young individuals of the latter two). Large kills of ungulates are supplemented by small prey, especially during spring and summer when herbivores disperse to high elevations in most of the range. Marmots are the most important smaller prey, but Snow Leopards also opportunistically take small rodents such as voles and hamsters, rabbits, hares, pikas and gamebirds such as Tibetan Snowcock and partridges. Incidental kills of small carnivores are recorded, mainly Red Fox but also martens and weasels. There is a credible record of an 18-month-old Brown Bear killed and largely eaten by two Snow Leopards in Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve, western Tien Shan, Kazakhstan. Snow Leopards kill domestic animals, which often rank second in the diet following wild ungulates. Cattle, domestic yaks, sheep and goats are most often killed, and there are incidental records of domestic camel calves, horse foals and dogs. Depredation can reach significant levels locally and seasonally when wild prey is scarce and when livestock is unattended in montane valleys and meadows. Snow Leopards occasionally enter livestock corrals, sometimes resulting in large losses, for example 82 sheep killed in one night by a Snow Leopard. Importantly, there is evidence that Snow Leopards prefer to prey on wild ungulates even when livestock is abundant. Collared Snow Leopards in the Tost Mountains in the southern Gobi Desert, Mongolia, ate mainly ungulates (comprising 73 per cent of kills compared to 27 per cent made up of livestock) despite livestock being 10 times more abundant in the area. Snow Leopards do not prey on humans. There are extremely few recorded attacks on people, none fatal and most of them the result of extreme provocation. Two men attacked in 1940 in south-eastern Kazakhstan were seriously injured, but the Snow Leopard was infected with rabies.

The Snow Leopard hunts mainly at dusk through the night into the early morning, though diurnal hunting is more common during winter and where people do not occur. Snow Leopards search for prey by walking along key features of the landscape such as high ridges, animal trails, watercourses and valley bottoms, and resting in wait at strategic sites such as overlooks, terraces and near water sources or salt licks. When prey is located, the Snow Leopard stalks in typical felid fashion, often attempting to reach a position above the quarry before rushing it at close range. The Snow Leopard is superbly sure-footed and is able to pursue prey over extraordinarily steep, rugged terrain. The chase lasts for 200−300m at most, during which the cat attempts to hook the prey with its dew-claw or knock it off its feet (occasionally resulting in prey falling hundreds of feet and being lost). Large prey is usually killed by asphyxiation with a throat bite. There is no information on Snow Leopard hunting success. Unless disturbed, Snow Leopards feed on large kills until finished, for up to a week. They eat carrion, including occasionally from kleptoparasitism; there is one observation of a Snow Leopard displacing four Dholes from a domestic goat they had just killed (Hemis National Park, India). Snow Leopards in turn may lose kills to other carnivores, including Grey Wolves and Brown Bears. On the Tibetan Plateau, China, domestic dogs living in association with Tibetan monasteries harass Snow Leopards and regularly drive them off kills.

Snow Leopards display solitary, territorial behaviour including regular marking with urine, faeces and scrapes, but the extent to which ranges are exclusive and defended is poorly known. Before 2009, only 14 Snow Leopards had been radio-collared, in India, Mongolia and Nepal. Between 2009 and 2013, 19 individuals were fitted with GPS collars in the Tost Mountains, southern Mongolia and three Snow Leopards have been GPS-collared in the Hindu Kush Mountains, Afghanistan (2012). Both studies are expected to produce a more detailed understanding of the species’ socio-spatial ecology. Range size is likely to be large given the naturally low prey densities of their habitat. Home range estimates from ground-based radio-telemetry prior to 1998 are likely to be gross underestimates; a Mongolian female’s calculated range went from 58km² to at least 1,590km² (and possibly more than 4,500km²) when her VHF radio-collar was replaced with a satellite collar. Range size in the Tost Mountains is 87.2–193.2km² (adult females) and 114.3–394.1km² (adult males) using conservative estimates that assume Snow Leopards closely follow the edges of mountain ranges. This increases to 202.3–548.5km² (females) and 264.9–1,283km² (males) if associated steppe areas are included, but Snow Leopards rarely spend any time in steppe habitat. Snow Leopards are able to cover large distances in rugged terrain, often 10–12km a day and as long as 28km. Snow leopards naturally occur at low densities and are extremely difficult to count. Estimates from camera-trapping include 0.15 Snow Leopards per 100km² (Sarychat, Kyrgyzstan), 1.5–2.3 per100 km² (Tost, Mongolia) and 4.5 per 100km² in prey-rich habitat (Hemis National Park, India).

There is little information from the wild but reproduction in Snow Leopards is almost certainly strongly seasonal, unlike in other Panthera cats. Winters are extreme everywhere in Snow Leopard range and even captives show marked seasonality, with births occurring from February to September; 89 per cent of births occur April through June. This is consistent with elevated calling and scent-marking in wild Snow Leopards that peaks between January and March during the presumed mating period. According to a small number of available records, young cubs in the wild occur from April to July. Oestrus lasts 2−12 days (usually five to eight days) and gestation lasts 90−105 days. Litter size averages two to three cubs, exceptionally up to five. Weaning occurs at two to three months. Age at independence is poorly known; two Mongolian subadults left their mother at 18−24 months, coinciding with the mother’s return to oestrus. Sexual maturity occurs at around two years for both sexes in captivity; wild Mongolian females first reproduce at three to four years. A minimum of 21 cubs (and estimated 32 cubs) were born to a population of 12–14 adult Snow Leopards over four years in the Tost Mountains, southern Mongolia.

Mortality Based on four years of camera-trap records, annual mortality of Snow Leopards in a relatively well-protected population (Tost Mountains, Mongolia) has been estimated at 17 per cent (adults) and 23 per cent (subadults). Causes of natural mortality are poorly known. Starvation is likely to be an important seasonal factor especially for young animals given the extremes in weather in Snow Leopard habitat. Predation is probably very rare but may occur, especially on cubs; potential predators include the Grey Wolf and Brown Bear. Most recorded mortality is by people.

STATUS AND THREATS

Snow Leopards are extremely challenging to find and survey, and their status is poorly known across the majority of the range. The total population is crudely estimated at 4,000–7,000, with between 50 and 62 per cent of all wild Snow Leopards estimated to occur in China. The presence of Snow Leopards is regarded as definitive or probable in only 41 per cent of the estimated 2.9 million km2 current range. With such poor knowledge, it is difficult to estimate the areas from which Snow Leopards have been extirpated but it is thought to be far less than for most large felids, perhaps as little as 5–10 per cent of historical range. Known areas of range loss include parts of central and northern Mongolia and southern Siberia, though Snow Leopard numbers may never have been high in any of these regions. Snow Leopard numbers are thought to have declined by as much as 40 per cent in parts of the former Soviet Union during the 1990s, when associated economic collapse led to widespread poaching of Snow Leopards and their prey. Those declines have been halted and in some cases reversed due in part to improved economic conditions and intensive conservation efforts. Snow Leopard numbers are thought to be increasing in some parts of the Himalayas, and they have reappeared in such places as the Mount Everest region where they had not been seen in nearly three decades. Over much of their range, populations may be stable or slightly declining, although solid data is lacking in most cases.

Snow Leopards are somewhat insulated from human activities given they live in such remote, inhospitable areas but they are naturally rare, and human populations and their livestock are increasing in Snow Leopard habitat. The main threat to Snow Leopards relates to the depletion of wild ungulates that are widely hunted by people. This is compounded by the presence of livestock that potentially displaces wild ungulates and is occasionally preyed upon by Snow Leopards. In retaliation, Snow Leopards are widely persecuted for livestock depredation. Recent and ongoing poisoning campaigns of marmots and pikas in China and Mongolia may exacerbate the threat of prey depletion. International trade in Snow Leopard fur once averaged around 1,000 skins a year. Fortunately this is now illegal although furs and especially body parts continue to be illegally traded, driven by demand mainly from China, Indochina and eastern Europe. Trade in Snow Leopard pelts and bones in China was formerly a local problem restricted to Snow Leopard range provinces but is reported to be emerging in the wealthier coastal cities. The demand for luxury rugs and taxidermy, especially from China and eastern Europe, also appears on the increase. Skins and carcasses from animals killed in retaliation by herders are often sold into the trade. Emerging threats for the species include rapid expansion of mining, road and rail construction, and intensified hydroelectricity development in much of central Asia and the Himalayas. Over the longer term, climate change is expected to impact Snow Leopard habitats, and likely lead to further intensification of human presence and use.

CITES Appendix I. Red List: Endangered. Population trend: Decreasing.