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Leopard description of the animal. Animal irbis: description, habitat. The constitution of the body and the external features of the animal snow leopard

Hello friends! Guess the riddle:

Lives high in the mountains

This wild snow cat.

I am sure that all of you perfectly understood that this is a snow leopard. A carnivorous animal from the cat family. A relative of the tiger, panther and leopard.

This animal has other names. It is also called the snow leopard or irbis. The word "irbis" came to us from the Turkic language and means "snow cat".

This predator is called snowy because of its beautiful light fur. Its fluffy, thick, warm fur coat is whitish-gray in color with dark rings in the form of rings, making it very similar to a leopard. And this coloring makes it almost invisible in its natural habitat. Where does he live?

Lesson plan:

Habitat

The snow leopard is a mountain dweller. It lives in the high and rocky mountains of Central and Central Asia.

This beautiful cat can be found in countries such as:

  • Afghanistan;
  • China;
  • India;
  • Mongolia;
  • Nepal;
  • Pakistan etc.

On the territory of Russia is found:

  • in the Krasnoyarsk Territory;
  • in the Republic of Tuva;
  • in Khakassia;
  • and in Altai.

The snow leopard arranges its lair in caves or crevices. There he spends most of his time during the day. Resting, playing, relaxing. Well, at dawn or at sunset, the leopard goes hunting. Want to know who he's after? Then read on)

Hunting

As we already know, the irbis is a predator. It preys on ungulates such as:

  • mountain goats;
  • sheep;
  • roe deer;
  • moose;
  • deer.

Sometimes he likes to eat hares, partridges, marmots and other small animals.

In summer, the leopard adds plant foods to its diet, chews grass and various leaves.

Snow leopards hunt mostly alone. They sit in ambush for a long time, watching their prey, and then overtake it with several powerful jumps. And the predator jumps just fine: up to 6 meters in length and up to 2.5 - 3 meters in height. Then the leopard drags the prey to a secluded place and eats calmly there. Moreover, in order for the leopard to eat enough for him, 2-3 kg of meat is enough, so he does not finish eating to the end, he simply abandons his prey and leaves.

The snow leopard likes to attack prey from above, so it is much easier for him to knock down a large animal and kill him. Hunting continues in hot summers and snowy winters. And the winter in the mountains is harsh, but the leopard is saved from the cold by his chic warm fur coat with thick undercoat. And in general, nature has created this predator in such a way that he feels comfortable in the snow.

What does a snow leopard look like?

The leopard is much smaller than such well-known predatory cats as a tiger or a lion. The length of his body, together with his head, reaches 130 cm. The height at the shoulders is 60 cm. The weight of males is 45-55 kg. Males are slightly larger than females. The head is round. The ears are small and rounded. The legs are short and strong. The paws are flat and wide, this helps the irbis to move through deep snow and not fall into it.

But if the snow is loose, then the leopard cannot walk on it and not fall through. Therefore, he often treads paths in snowdrifts, which he uses to move around. And the leopard has to walk a lot. Once every few days he makes a round of his hunting grounds.

And the irbis has a beautiful, long, fluffy tail. The length of the tail can reach 1 meter. The tail helps the leopard to make precise maneuvers while hunting. That is, time to turn in the right direction. And little leopards are very fond of “hunting” for their mother’s chic tail. They play with him when they are with their mother in the den.

Offspring

For the birth of cubs, the female arranges a lair in the most inaccessible and hidden places. Leopards are born from April to June. Usually two to five cubs are born. They are born blind, but after 8 days the babies open their eyes and can see.

When the leopards are 5-6 months old, their mother begins to teach them to hunt. They go hunting with the whole family, but the last decisive jump is made by the female. Mother brings up her children for 2 years. And then they leave to live an independent life. A life full of dangers.

Snow Leopard Enemy

In nature, the snow leopard has no enemies. However, the leopard is in serious danger. And this danger comes from man. It is the man who is the most terrible, strong and cruel enemy of this beautiful predator. Despite the fact that snow leopards live in very remote places, poachers kill them. They need beautiful fur, which is very expensive.

The snow leopard is afraid of people. Only two cases of a predator attack on a person are known. The first happened in 1940. Near Alma-Ata, a leopard attacked two people and seriously injured them, as it turned out, he suffered from rabies. And in the second case, a very old, toothless, emaciated and hungry leopard jumped on a man from a cliff.

To date, only about 7,000 individuals are known to live in nature. Another 2,000 live in zoos around the world.

Snow leopards are listed in the Red Book and they need our protection. In the ecological calendar there is even a “Day of the Snow Leopard”, which has been celebrated since 2010 in Altai on May 26th. You can read about other environmental holidays.

10 interesting facts about the snow leopard


Oh yes, I also prepared a wonderful video for you, which will give you the opportunity to see the snow leopard with your own eyes.

I wish you success in your studies!

Evgenia Klimkovich.

The snow leopard (Irbis) is a proud inhabitant of the mountains, a large predator, an amazing and graceful representative of the cat family. In ancient times, due to the similarity of color with panthers, it had a different name - a snow leopard and was mistakenly assigned to their genus. Animals belong to different genera and are not close relatives. The leopard is inferior to the irbis in dexterity, jumping ability, strength, although it is superior in size.

The living space of these animals captures the high mountains of Tibet, the Altai Ranges, the mountainous regions of the Pamirs, the Himalayas, the Tien Shan. The snow leopard climbs to heights of up to three thousand meters, in search of prey it easily reaches the six thousandth mark. The size of the population can be judged tentatively. According to scientists, it is in the range of 3.5 - 7.5 thousand individuals. The largest population lives in China - 2 - 5 thousand individuals, the smallest in Uzbekistan - up to 50 individuals.

Due to active human activity and illegal fishing, the number of the species is continuously declining. The beautiful and thick fur of the animal makes it a desirable prey for poachers, and the skin, despite the ban on sale, has a high price and is in great demand on world markets. In the states where the habitat of the predator is located, the snow leopard is protected by law and it is forbidden to kill it. International organizations are taking measures to preserve the population. The predator is listed in the Red Book as being on the verge of extinction.

Appearance

The external similarity of the snow leopard and the panther is limited to spotted color and large body size.

  • The wild snow leopard is much fluffier than its counterparts, has a long, especially on the belly, extremely thick fur. Wool length 5 - 12 cm.
  • Males are larger than females, weighing from 45 to 55 kg. The weight of females starts from 22 kg and rarely exceeds 40 kg.
  • The animal has an elongated body, a squat figure and a long tail.
  • The height of an adult animal at the withers is 60 cm, the length of the body with the head is from 103 to 130 cm.
  • Paws are wide, short, with retractable claws.
  • The head is rounded and small in relation to the body.
  • Small ears are rounded at the ends, covered with fluffy fur, without tassels.
  • The tail of the snow leopard deserves special attention - it is quite long (90 - 105 cm), with a dense edge, and therefore it seems thicker than the front paws. Serves as a kind of steering wheel and balancer while running and jumping.
  • The camouflage color makes the animal invisible against the background of stones, rock surfaces, ice and snow. The main tone of the skin is grayish, with a smoky tint, almost white on the sides, belly and paws (their inner surface). Clouded leopards that live in the eastern and southern territories of Asia have a similar shade. The faded coat pattern consists of dark spots of various shapes, from 5 to 8 cm in diameter. The smallest marks are on the head, larger ones adorn the neck and paws, ring-shaped shadows are scattered on the sides and on the back. In some places, the rings merge into short longitudinal lines. Tail - with large dark spots and a black tip.

In the photo, young predators show a more pronounced coloration than adults. At the same time, the snow leopard - the male in terms of the intensity of the color of the skin is no different from the female. There are no differences in color and types of snow leopards living in different territories.

Habitat

The usual place of residence is bare stone blocks, rhododendron bushes, alpine pastures, deep rocky gorges. The snow leopard is often found in areas with low snow cover. Chooses open plateaus, steep slopes and deep gorges. Sometimes descends into forests, but spends most of its life above the forest line.

In the region of the Turkestan Range, it does not occur below 2.6 thousand meters. In the Himalayas, it climbs to heights of up to 6 thousand meters. In a number of places all year round lives at altitudes not exceeding 1 thousand meters above sea level (spurs of the Dzungarian Alatau, Matai).

Seasonal migrations of the animal are associated with the migration of its main prey - ungulates. In winter, high snow forces predators to descend from the highlands and move to the middle belt of mountains. In summer, the irbis returns to its usual alpine zone.

Behavioral features

The animal snow leopard, as a rule, chooses loneliness. Some individuals live in pairs - female and male. Personal territory is marked in various ways, but this is more of a habit than a necessity. In its protection, the snow leopard is not particularly zealous, it reacts calmly to the appearance of females or other males. The size of the hunting grounds for individual individuals differ significantly, depending on the region of habitat, the amount of prey (the less suitable food, the more land). An individual site can occupy an area from 12 km 2 to 160 km 2.

The snow leopard goes hunting at dusk - early in the morning or before sunset. In search of food, the snow leopard sets off along the same route. Looks at the camps and pastures of wild ungulates, hunts along the way for smaller game. Often such a journey takes several days, and before returning to the den, the animal has to travel tens of kilometers. A stream, river or mountain range serve as a reference point for movement.

Deep snow restrains the agility of the animal, prevents hunting. To make his way easier, he has to tread paths in the snow. Routes rarely change, the snow leopard uses the same trails more than once. Such predictability attracts poachers - an unsuspecting predator becomes easy prey for them.

Irbis equips a shelter in rocky heaps, caves, rock crevices. It settles in the den for several years, chooses suitable shelters for a rookery far from home.

Nutrition

The snow leopard is a universal hunter. Represents the same danger, both for yaks, rams, roe deer, and for mice, ground squirrels and small birds. The predator's diet consists of fresh meat, preference is given to ungulates, but if hares, pheasants and small rodents come across on the way, they also do not refuse them. The lack of vitamins makes up for in the summer, supplementing the main diet with grass and plant shoots. The daily norm of meat for an adult predator is 2-3 kg.

The snow leopard tracks down its prey from an ambush, hiding at watering places, paths, or quietly creeps up to the victim. Attacks a few tens of meters from the victim, abruptly jumps out and jumps overtakes the lingering animal. In case of a miss, it runs 300 meters after the game or, resigned to defeat, goes in search of a new target.

With large animals, the snow leopard jumps on its back, clings to the throat, strangles them or breaks their necks. The trophy is dragged into the shelter and only there begins the meal, tearing the meat from the skeleton of the victim with sharp teeth. Leaves the rest of the dinner to everyone, eats only fresh food. In its habitat it is out of competition and has no obvious enemies.

Reproduction and care of offspring

The young snow leopard reaches puberty by 3-4 years. The period of mating games, bass meowing and courtship falls on the last month of winter, often captures the first months of spring.

The snow leopard cat prepares thoroughly for childbirth: it chooses a secluded place for shelter (a cave, a cozy crevice, sometimes a vulture's nest), selflessly insulates it with its own wool, tearing it out of its belly. After 3 - 3.5 months (in April - May), the female has offspring - from 3 to 5 kittens. The whole burden of motherhood falls on the mother. In the upbringing of babies, the father participates only in rare cases.

A newborn snow leopard cub has a length of no more than 30 cm, weighs about 500 grams, does not see anything, and if something happens to its mother during this period, it simply dies. The eyes of the babies open on the 6th - 8th day, at 10 days the grown cubs begin to crawl. The female feeds the cubs with milk only for the first six weeks. Despite this, they manage to get all the nutrients necessary for a growing organism, grow up and get stronger. Leopard fat milk is five times more nutritious than that of a domestic cow - an indispensable source of energy in cold climates.

Two-month-old kittens get out of the den, play, bask in the sun and meet their mother with prey at the entrance to the shelter. Often such meetings end in quarrels - the kids are indignant, fighting, tearing pieces of meat from each other.

The restless family follows their mother's heels as early as three months, and at five they keep her company on the hunt. The female teaches the cubs to observe the victim, to sneak up, and she herself makes the decisive throw. Gradually, the hunt turns into a real safari with larger victims. The young generation begins independent life at the age of two.

Relationship with a person

In relation to people, the snow leopard is less aggressive than the tiger and leopard.. He does not touch people, and if he meets, he does not attack first. Only two cases of an animal attacking a person are known for certain.

In a hungry year, when the lack of food becomes noticeable, the predator easily switches to livestock - cows, goats, sheep, horses. The irreparable damage suffered by pastoralists can lead to the killing of the snow leopard.

Life in captivity

The snow leopard in the zoo is kept in a spacious bright enclosure over 5 meters high. The conditions of stay are as close as possible to the natural environment. The territory is equipped with stumps of different heights, snags, artificially created stone heaps. Irbis do not tolerate hot weather, in the summer they hide in a den or under the crowns of trees.

The animal leads a full life: plays, runs, jumps, climbs rocky ledges, brings offspring. The female arranges a rookery in the inner compartment of the enclosure. There she feeds newborn kittens with milk, licks them, nurses them and jealously guards them.

Primiparous females are very restless, sometimes they abandon their cubs, stop feeding. For foundlings, an ordinary cat becomes a nurse - the composition of her milk practically does not differ from the composition of the leopard's milk. If it is not possible to find a suitable cat, the zoo staff feeds the kittens with artificial milk replacer from the nipple.

Adult predators receive food 1 time per day. The diet consists of beef and live food (rabbits, chickens, laboratory rats, mice). Mixtures of minerals and vitamins, fresh herbs must be added to food. A healthy pet eats the entire portion offered during feeding.

So that the animals do not overeat, a fasting day is provided for them once a week. Animals are deprived of food for a day. This practice does not apply to lactating females (until the end of the lactation period) and kittens under six months old.

The life span of individuals in natural conditions is not more than 13 years. This is very short compared to how long snow leopards live in captivity - the average life expectancy is 21 years.

  1. The snow leopard easily copes with game that is three times its weight.
  2. The animal makes jumps up to 15 meters long.
  3. The irbis does not know how to growl like other big cats. But it purrs like a domestic cat and meows in a bass voice.
  4. The snow leopard (stylized version) is depicted on the coats of arms of Tatarstan, Khakassia, adorns the coat of arms of Alma-Ata and Samarkand.

If you were lucky enough to see this beautiful mountain cat, you will not forget such a moment for the rest of your life. We are talking about a miracle of nature called the snow leopard.

Snow leopard, leopard are other names for this animal. Mountain and snow predators are called due to the fact that they live high in the snowy mountains.

Irbis: description of the animal

Refers to large predators. Its weight is from 40 to 60 kg, body length is about 130-145 cm, add to this a meter-long tail. In shape, the snow leopard animal resembles a leopard or an ordinary domestic cat. The paws of the leopard are armed with narrow, sharp, curved claws. The limbs are so powerful that with their help the beast is able to jump over a gorge 9-10 m wide.

Wild cats irbis are distinguished by a beautiful "fur coat". Their coat is very long, lush, thick and soft to the touch. In such attire, animals, even on frosty mountain peaks, are protected from the cold. Usually, predators from smaller sizes can boast of such fur, so the leopard is to some extent unique in the cat kingdom.

The coat color is light gray with a beautiful "wild" pattern in the form of dark rosettes. The belly and the inside of the limbs are white. In the natural habitat, such a “dress” helps the predator to disguise itself at the right moments. It is interesting that, despite the loud title "predator", this cat does not know how to growl at all; in moments of anger, it hisses and purrs, creating a semblance of a growl. During the rut, the snow leopard makes sounds resembling a purr. In captivity, the leopard can live 27-28 years, in the natural environment, the life expectancy of these predators does not exceed 20 years.

Animal irbis: where it lives in the wild

Large wild cats usually do not live high in the mountains. The snow leopard is an exception to the rule, it lives in an environment of rocky placers, steep gorges in rocky highlands. Not only because of the beautiful appearance, but also because of the habitat, the irbis is considered unique. The snow leopard is found in the mountains of Central Asia, its range covers an area of ​​more than 1230 thousand square meters. km. In Russia, the leopard occupies about 3% of the total area.

Lifestyle

The snow leopard is the owner and sole proprietor. This beautiful predatory "cat" occupies a certain territory, marks it, carefully defends and protects it from uninvited guests. An animal irbis violates a solitary lifestyle only during the mating season.

When checking the boundaries of her area, she always goes one route. She, like other members of the cat family, finds it difficult to move on loose snow. For this reason, predators lay paths along the snow crust, along which they move freely and quickly. Such a powerful beast has practically no enemies among animals. When the year is hungry, the snow leopard can fight with packs of wolves for the right to have long-awaited prey, which is extremely dangerous. The main and, one might say, the only enemy of leopards is man.

diet

The favorite hunting time for the snow leopard is twilight. If there is enough prey on the territory of the site belonging to the snow leopard, it feeds without violating the boundaries. If there is little food, a predatory cat goes in search of it, approaching human settlements and attacking livestock. Among the wild animals on the menu of the mountain beauty are: goats, elks, rams, wild sheep, deer, marmots, hares, mice and other mammals. As an addition to meat "dishes", leopards eat plant foods in the form of grass and other green parts of plants. If we talk about the strength of the snow leopard, then he can easily cope with prey equal in size, he can also hunt game that is superior in height and strength.

reproduction

The snow leopard animal is a rare predator due to the slow rate of reproduction. Data babies are not born every year, unlike other relatives. Sexual maturity in snow leopards occurs at the age of three. Snow leopards arrange their weddings in early spring, the mating season takes place in March-April. After fertilization, the female leopard bears cubs for 100 days. There can be from one to five kittens in one litter.

Babies are born completely helpless. Newborn leopards are blind and deaf, their weight is about half a kilogram. The mother predator feeds her cubs with her milk for up to 4 months. When they are 50-60 days old, the female begins to feed the crumbs with meat. Starting from the age of six months, kittens already accompany their mother on the hunt and learn this skill.

  • Translated from the Turkic dialect, the name "irbis" means "snow cat".
  • The leopard is able to easily jump up to 5-6 m in length. According to the hunters, in critical situations, the predator can “fly over” a gorge 10 meters long.
  • A wild cat loves to play, especially to frolic, to lie in the snow.
  • When meeting with a person, he does not light up with aggression, he tries to leave and hide as soon as possible.
  • Approximately once every two weeks, the leopard kills one large animal and feeds on this carcass for about 3-4 days.
  • Can migrate after up to 600 km.

On the brink of extinction

As mentioned earlier, the snow leopard animal, unfortunately, does not belong to numerous species. The following reasons led to the fact that the snow leopard was on the verge of extinction:


It is good that now people have come to their senses and are engaged in the restoration and preservation of this type of wild cats. Irbis is listed in the Red Book as a predator on the verge of extinction. Almost all countries in the world have banned leopard hunting. Let's hope that the fauna of the planet Earth will not lose such a wonderful representative as the snow leopard.

Genetically related to tigers, but for a long time it was considered by zoologists to the genus Panthers. It's about the snow leopard. His middle name is irbis. In the cold highlands, he is the only feline. Looking at others in the literal sense from a high, the leopard is a symbol of power and nobility.

Description and features of the snow leopard

Externally Snow Leopard- a squat leopard with long, white hair. She is 6 cm, which is a record among cats. The tail of the snow leopard is especially long. Other features include:

  • the ability to purr and the lack of the ability to growl, like other big cats
  • body length from 200 to 230 centimeters, taking into account the meter-long tail
  • weight from 25 to 75 kilograms, where the upper limit belongs to males, and the minimum indicators to females
  • 60 cm height at the withers
  • small, rounded ears without brushes at the ends
  • large gray-black markings with a diameter of about 7 centimeters of an annular type on the body
  • small solid black spots on the muzzle and paws
  • woolly paw pads to prevent frostbite in the snowy highlands
  • green-yellow eyes with round black pupils
  • combination of black wirisses on the muzzle with white
  • 30 teeth

Zoologists call the snow leopard an average cat, since half of the predator's habits are taken from small, and the other half from large whiskers. The latter are characterized by a pattern on the head, a round pupil, which allows the device of the larynx to growl.

The leopard is deprived of the latter, and is in a pose characteristic of small mustachioed with a vertical pupil.

Called medium, the size of the irbis is comparable to large cats. However, the extinct saber-toothed one also differed in size. Despite its size, it belonged to small cats.

The wide paws of the snow leopard provide good grip when traveling through mountainous terrain.

Lifestyle and habitat

The second name of the species comes from the Turkic "irbiz". Translation - "snow cat". The main name also contains the adjective "snowy". The characteristic indicates the habitat conditions of the snow leopard. He is choosing:

  1. Highlands, rising above sea level by 2-6 thousand meters.
  2. Coniferous forests at medium altitudes and thickets of shrubs, for example, rhododendron under the "roof of the world".
  3. Sometimes snow leopard lives on the desert plains of the highlands.

Suitable places for the snow leopard are in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tibet, Kyrgyzstan, India. Found animal snow leopard and in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The beast is found in the mountains of the Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories, Tyva.

Features of the lifestyle of the snow leopard are:

  1. Territoriality. The male covers several hundred kilometers. The property is longer than it is wide. The male lets 3-4 females into his territory, but meets with them only for mating.
  2. Stealth. Among cats, the snow leopard is the most timid, accurate, like a lynx, it hears and smells a person from tens of kilometers away.
  3. Routing. The leopard has a well-thought-out scheme for bypassing possessions. The beast does not change route. This is used by poachers, finding the paths of a predator.
  4. Night life. During the day, the leopard rests in the den, or among the branches. The cat builds a “house” in rock crevices. The leopard moves every 3-5 years.

Moving in the mountains, the snow leopard is forced to jump between boulders and jump over crevices. In "flight" the beast steers with a fluffy tail.

Leopard tail allows you to maintain balance

Types of snow leopards

The report of an international group of researchers from 2017 speaks of 3 subspecies of the snow leopard. They were identified by the genome of animals. Cat feces were analyzed. Biomaterial was collected in different parts of the world. In China, for example, snow leopard feces were collected in the 21st province.

The biomaterial allowed scientists to conduct:

  • polymerase chain reaction (PCR) aimed at repeating short monomeric fragments (first, 7 were searched, then the scope was expanded to 33 microsatellites)
  • sequencing of mitochondrial DNA fragments

The second analysis turned out to be uninformative. PCR divided the snow leopards into territorial subgroups. They differ not only genetically, but also in features of anatomy and coloration. Defined:

  1. Central subspecies. Medium size with charcoal markings.
  2. Southern snow leopard. The largest and with the most dark spots.
  3. Northern irbis. Smaller than others. The markings on the body of the animal are gray.

Anatomically, cats may differ, for example, the head. Snow leopard of Russia, for example, happens with a neat or, on the contrary, a massive skull. The latter is characteristic of the snow leopards of the Altai Territory.

Snow leopard nutrition

Snow leopard in the photo often appears with prey the size of a cat, or larger. This is a feature of the snow leopard - he prefers serious opponents. The predator menu includes:

  • argali, wild boars, deer, roe deer, mountain goats and other ungulates
  • livestock in starvation conditions, when leopards are forced to go to settlements
  • hares, rodents and birds as snacks

Overtaking the prey irbis (snow leopard) performs a 6-meter long jump. This is a chase if necessary. An ambush predator hunts. Therefore, sometimes one sharp impulse to the victim is enough.

Reproduction and lifespan

About the snow leopard little is "heard", but by the end of winter the animals become more active. The breeding season has begun. Lairs for childbirth are prepared by females. They carry offspring in the womb for 110 days. After 2-5 kittens are born. They are:

  • 30cm length
  • weigh about half a kilogram
  • blind
  • helpless up to a month old

When the kittens are one and a half months old, the mother begins to feed the offspring with meat. In parallel, newborns continue to drink breast milk, weaning from it by 6 months of age.

The father is not involved in the upbringing of the offspring. Life skills are passed on to young cats by the mother, living with offspring for about 2 years. Accordingly, kittens in female leopards appear once every 24 months.

snow leopard cubs

Snow leopard protection

Snow leopard in the Red Book. The species is listed in the international edition. There is no place on the planet where the snow leopard population is numerous.

Hunting for the snow leopard is prohibited everywhere, as it has become the main reason for the small number of cats. They were shot for valuable fur. It was a trend in the fashion world of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 21st century, poachers supply the skins of snow leopards to the market. Their product is found in the markets:

  1. Mongolia.
  2. China.
  3. Thailand.

In addition to poachers, the population of snow leopards is “undermined” by:

  • reduction in the food base, that is, the number of ungulates
  • anxiety of animals due to the active development of their lands by man
  • tourism development

How many snow leopards are left? For the whole world - about 3 thousand individuals. No wonder the snow leopard is "placed" on the scarlet page of the Red Book. This is how endangered species are designated. The black pages tell about those who have already disappeared. Yellow color indicates animals whose numbers are declining, but not yet critical.

Only 150 snow leopards live in Russia. For the entire Krasnoyarsk Territory, for example, only 20 individuals were counted. They live in the Sayano-Shushensky Reserve and Ergaki.

One of the strongest representatives of the cat family is the snow leopard. Another name for this animal is the irbis or snow leopard. Because of the valuable fur, hunting for snow leopards is always popular. Because of this, the number of individuals of this species in the middle of the last century was greatly reduced.

It was recorded that in the sixties of the XX century, only one thousand adult snow leopards remained on the planet. Recently, the population of snow leopards has increased and reached the value of 5000–7500 individuals. This was achieved thanks to the ban on hunting this predator. In all states where the snow leopard lives, the animal is under protection and is listed in the Red Book.

Habitat and abundance of the snow leopard

You can meet this magnificent animal in Central Asia. The main habitats of snow leopards are in such states as:

  • Afghanistan,
  • Russia,
  • China,
  • India,
  • Kazakhstan,
  • Kyrgyzstan,
  • Mongolia,
  • Uzbekistan and others.

You can meet a mammalian predator in the highlands, approximately at an altitude of 1500 to 5 thousand meters above sea level. In Russia, the habitats of the snow leopard are located in Khakassia, Altai, Tyva, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The appearance of the snow leopard (irbis)



Description of the appearance of the snow leopard

The appearance of the snow leopard resembles a leopard, despite the rather distant relationship. In addition, the irbis is much smaller than its relative. At the withers, the animal grows up to 60 centimeters. The body of the irbis reaches one and a half meters in length, the tail is a whole meter! From the whole cat family snow leopards have the longest tail in relation to the body. The tail is used to maintain balance during huge jumps - a distance of 15 meters. At the same time, the weight of an adult leopard can reach 100 kilograms. Males are usually larger than females.

The head of the irbis is small, about 20 centimeters long. The tips of the ears are rounded, there are no tassels. Wide paws do not allow the predator to fall into the snow.

The color of the coat is predominantly gray with black spots. In winter, the skin has a darker color, and brightens in summer. The spots are shaped like a five-leafed flower, often with an additional spot in the middle. The head, neck and limbs do not have well-defined spots, but rather black strokes. The spots are large, can reach a diameter of 7 centimeters. The fur of the predator is thick and long, the hairs reach a length of 5.5 centimeters. This is due to the fact that snow leopards live mainly in cold climates. It is noteworthy that snow leopards fur grows even between the toes. This saves the snow leopard from the cold in winter and from hot stones in summer. It also prevents him from sliding on ice.

An adult animal has 30 teeth. A roar, similar to other large representatives of the feline family, is not emitted, but meowed more often in low tones.

Food and hunting

Irbis are predatory animals of the cat family. They prefer to hunt at dusk or at dawn. As a rule, they hunt the following animals:

  • on ungulates: sheep, mountain goats, roe deer, deer;
  • on small animals: ground squirrels, pikas;
  • on birds: snowcocks, pheasants.

However, attacking small animals and birds is not typical for snow leopards. Snow leopards hunt for them in case of a shortage of large horned animals nearby.

Hunting is conducted as follows. The predator sneaks up to the chosen game and swiftly jumps on it. For an ambush, high stones are used, in which case the throw on the victim will be from above. They can pursue prey at a distance of about 300 meters, but if it is not possible to catch up with the victim, then they stop the chase. Snow leopards can hunt in families of 2-3 individuals. In this case, these mammalian predators can even successfully attack the bear.

Snow leopards drag the prey to the couch, where they eat it. The remains, as a rule, are not guarded or hidden. At the same time, one large game, the snow leopard, is enough for several days.

In summer, snow leopards are known to gnaw grass and green parts of young shrubs in addition to hunting meat.

reproduction

Snow leopards lead a predominantly solitary lifestyle, but can form family groups. The territory of one male has an area of ​​150-160 square kilometers. Partially covered by the territories of females. They prefer to settle on rocky places., often occupying natural caves or nests of large birds.

Mating occurs in spring or early summer. The mating season is very short - only a week. Pregnancy lasts 3–3.5 months. The female arranges a warm secluded den, the bottom of which is lined with her hair. There are 2-3 kittens in a litter. Cubs are born blind, eyes open after about a week. Babies weigh about 500 grams and reach a length of 30 centimeters. The coloration is brown with small spots. At first, they feed only on mother's milk. Only the mother takes care of the babies.

In a cave hidden from prying eyes, the cubs sit for about 2 months. All this time, in addition to milk, the female feeds them with meat. Little leopards begin to go hunting with their mother at about six months.. At first, only the mother rushes to prey.

Babies become independent at about two years of age, and sexual maturity occurs at 4 years. The life expectancy of snow leopards reaches 13 years, in captivity they can live up to 20.