Snow leopard

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Snow leopard
Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)

Snow leopard ( Panthera uncia )

Systematics
Order : Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination : Feline (Feliformia)
Family : Cats (Felidae)
Subfamily : Big cats (pantherinae)
Genre : Real big cats ( Panthera )
Type : Snow leopard
Scientific name
Panthera uncia
( Schreber , 1775)

The snow leopard, Irbis or ounce ( Panthera uncia ) is a big cat (Pantherinae) of the Central Asian high mountains. It is found from the Himalayas of Nepal and India in the south to the Altai and Sayan Mountains of Russia in the north and from the Tibetan highlands in the east to the Pamir , Hindu Kush and Tianshan Mountains in the west. It looks similar to a leopard , but has a longer, mostly gray fur that is particularly thick in the cold season. Unlike other big cats, the snow leopard never roars. Due to the relatively short snout and the extremely long tail, the snow leopard also differs externally from other types of big cats. The snow leopard lives solitary and feeds primarily on medium-sized ungulates and rodents of the mountains. It inhabits rocky and rugged mountain regions up to 6000 meters above sea level. Although protected areas have been established, the species' population is threatened by poaching and the decline in prey.

features

anatomy

Snow leopard at Brookfield Zoo
Snow leopard in winter fur
Snow leopard in summer fur

The snow leopard looks very massive with its thick fur, but is smaller and lighter than an average leopard ( Panthera pardus ). The head-trunk length is 80 to 130 centimeters, plus 80 to 100 centimeters of tail length. The shoulder height is around 60 centimeters and the weight varies between 25 and 75 kilograms. Males, with an average of 45 to 55 kilograms, are significantly heavier and larger than females, who usually weigh between 35 and 40 kilograms. The thickly hairy tail is longer than that of the leopard and measures more than three quarters of the head-torso length. He takes on the function of a rudder when jumping. The snow leopard moves extremely safely in difficult terrain and is characterized by great jumping ability, although alleged record distances of up to 15 meters can hardly be proven. When resting, the predator's tail serves as protection from the cold by curling up in it and flapping the end over its nose.

The head is relatively small and characterized by a short snout and enlarged nasal cavities, which presumably have the task of warming cold air. The very large paws are similar to those of the lynx and have a kind of snowshoe effect . They are covered with a hair pad on the soles, which also increases the surface area and thus contributes to a better distribution of body weight. This reduces sinking into snow fields and better protects the soles of the feet from the cold.

hide

The basic color of the snow leopard fur is a light gray, which in contrast to the black spots can look almost white. The variation in color ranges from pale gray to cream-colored or smoky gray; the underside is lighter, often almost white. The dark brown to black spots on the back, flanks and tail are in the shape of rings or rosettes, the interior of which is often darker. Only on the head, neck and limbs are the rosettes replaced by dots. The fur is very dense to protect against extreme cold and consists in places of 4000 hairs per square centimeter. In winter, the fur on the back reaches a length of five centimeters, and on the belly it can be up to twelve centimeters long. In the summer, however, it is much shorter. In the summer coat, the coat markings emerge more clearly, which is much more blurred in winter.

Way of life

habitat

The snow leopard is a typical inhabitant of the mountains. Here you can find it in various habitats such as rocky areas, mountain steppes, bushland and sparse coniferous forests. He seems to avoid dense forests. In summer, it prefers to stay above the tree line on mountain meadows and in rocky regions, where it rises to altitudes of up to 6000 meters in the Himalayas. Even in winter, when it follows its prey in lower elevations, it can hardly be found in this region below 2000 to 2500 meters, in summer it is mostly above 4000 to 4500 meters. In Nepal, for example, the snow leopard usually lives in the open areas above around 3500 meters, while the leopard mainly occurs in the forested areas below. In the Pamir Mountains you can find his traces even in winter at 4500 to 5000 meters. In doing so, the cat usually moves on mountain ridges that the wind has freed from an overly thick blanket of snow. In the northern parts of the distribution area in particular, the snow leopard can also be found at much lower altitudes. You can find it in the Djungarian Alatau all year round at an altitude of 600 to 1000 meters. It can also be found in the mountains of Aktau at very low altitudes of 1000 to 1500 meters. Snow leopards are rarely seen far from the mountains. One animal was spotted on the north bank of Lake Balkhash in the winter of 1957/58 . So it must have covered 600 kilometers through flat or hill country. In Mongolia, there are reports of snow leopards in rock formations of the lowlands at an altitude of only 100 meters. In general, the snow leopard prefers rocky and steep areas everywhere. In southwest Mongolia, for example, it prefers rugged areas and slopes with inclines of over 20 °, while less rugged and more hilly terrain formations are visited. As a resting place, the snow leopard seeks rock caves or inaccessible crevices, occasionally abandoned nests of vultures.

nutrition

Blue sheep are one of the most important prey animals.
Chew on a wooden branch.

Depending on the region , the most important prey of the snow leopard includes blue sheep , argalis , steppe sheep , ibex , screw goats , tears , marmots , whistling hares and various birds. In some areas, species that are not explicitly associated with high mountain habitats are also prey, such as half donkeys , musk deer , wild boar , deer and gazelles . Snow leopards also kill domestic animals such as sheep, goats, yaks , cattle, donkeys, and horses. Apparently the snow leopard also likes to eat certain plants. In the droppings of the snow leopard, for example, larger amounts of plant material can be found, especially branches of panicle shrubs and tamarisks .

A study that was carried out between 2007 and 2009 in the Himalayan and Karakoram regions in northern Pakistan ( Baltistan ) came to the conclusion that 70 percent of the total prey mass consists of domestic animals, mainly sheep, goats, cattle and yaks. Wild animals, especially Siberian ibex, screw goats and birds, make up only about 30 percent of the diet. An orientation of the diet towards human livestock can be observed in many other habitats of the snow leopard, the cause is the declining populations of natural prey animals. In the Pin Valley National Park in Himachal Pradesh (northern India), which has relatively good populations of Siberian ibex, natural prey makes up around 58 percent of the diet. In contrast, in the neighboring Kibber game reserve , in which natural prey animals are less common and domestic animals are more common, only 42 percent of the food consists of natural prey, predominantly blue sheep. The marmot, which can make up a large part of the snow leopard's diet in other areas, is also missing in both reserves. Overall, snow leopards appear to be particularly reliant on domestic animals for food in areas where marmots have been wiped out.

In the Nepalese Annapurna region the blue sheep is the main prey, while in the Everest region of Nepal the Himalayan tahr and musk deer are the most important natural prey. But here too, livestock make up a relatively large proportion of the diet. In Mongolia, Siberian ibex in particular are an important prey. Here, cats are mostly found in areas that are inhabited by ibex. In addition, half donkeys , crop gazelles , argalis , Tolai hare , Altai king fowl and Chukar stone fowl are among the proven prey animals in Mongolia . In addition to argalis, ibex are the most important prey animals in the Tienshang Mountains. Deer are often shot there in summer. In the Pamirs, deer are apparently the most important prey.

When hunting, the snow leopard often wanders over mountain ridges and follows rivers or the migration routes of its prey. Otherwise he ambushes her at deer tracks, salt licks or water holes. As soon as he has identified potential prey, he tries to reduce the distance between himself and his victim to a few tens of meters. Raised rocks are often used as a hide so that it can surprise its victims from above. Otherwise he looks for cover between rocks and rubble while sneaking up on them. The attack takes place in large sentences about six to seven meters long, but is often canceled after a few sentences without success. The pursuit can also extend over 200 to 300 meters down a slope. When the victim is reached, it is torn down, pushed to the ground with the front legs and usually killed by a bite in the throat or throat. In order to hide their prey from vultures and crows, the snow leopard usually drags them into a hiding place, for example under rocks or bushes. The cat often spends a few days near a larger crack and keeps returning to the prey. The remains of the meal are often eaten by other predators such as wolves or bears. In captivity, a snow leopard needs around 1.5 kilograms of meat per day.

Territoriality and population density

Snow leopard

The size of the home range depends on the number of prey available. Since the prey animals in the high mountains are usually only found in very low population densities, snow leopards use huge areas in many regions. A hunting ground covers 20 to 40 square kilometers in a good hunting area and up to 1000 square kilometers in regions with little prey such as Mongolia. The territories of males and females often overlap considerably.

Until the 1980s, next to nothing was known about the life of the snow leopard in the wild, especially the size of the territories and the activity times. The little available knowledge came mainly from the interpretations of tracks and the reports of hunters. The first comprehensive study that provided more detailed information on the way of life was carried out in Shey Phoksundo National Park in western Nepal between 1982 and 1985 . Radio telemetry was used to mark a total of five snow leopards with transmitters. The size of the grazing areas varied between 12 and 39 square kilometers, with some large overlaps. As a rule, however, the individuals kept a distance of at least two kilometers from one another. There was no evidence of patrolling at the territorial borders. The animals spent most of the time in the core areas of the home areas. A seasonal shift in the home areas could not be observed in this area either.

Another quite extensive study with the help of radio telemetry was carried out between 1994 and 1997 in the Mongolian Altai, northeast of the Great Gobi-B Conservation Area . The grazing areas were between 14 and 142 square kilometers. Most of the positions were determined conventionally from the ground, which sometimes meant that the animals could not be located because they were outside the reception area. This ultimately led to an underestimation of the actual area size. In addition, satellite telemetry was used in this study, with which the range or disruptive mountain ranges are unproblematic. This method resulted in a female who, according to the measurements taken from the ground, had a range of 58 square kilometers, a range of about 1,600 square kilometers. If the outliers were included, the area would even be around 4500 square kilometers, which is probably above the regularly visited grazing area. Territories on the order of several hundred square kilometers correspond better with what is to be expected given the relatively low prey populations. The snow leopards live in the area mainly on Siberian ibex, whose population density is around one animal per square kilometer. If the potentially required area size is calculated with this density of prey, the result is an average grazing area of ​​around 130 to 260 square kilometers, with overlapping territories of an average of three animals each around 380 to 770 square kilometers, which agrees quite well with the data obtained via satellite telemetry.

The snow leopard marks its territory with scratches, droppings and a scented secretion on paths that are often used. He usually stays in a limited area for about seven to ten days and then moves to another part of the area. The snow leopard was generally considered to be a nocturnal animal, but is often active during the day and especially at dusk. As a shelter, it often looks for protection in grottos or rock caves, the floor of which is padded with a thick layer of hair after a certain period of time.

Reproduction and lifespan

Snow leopard and cub
Young snow leopards
Elderly Snow Leopard ( Shynghyz )

Snow leopards are solitary and only come together during the mating season between January and March. The animals increasingly set scent marks and make mating calls. This seasonal mating season is unique for big cats. The mating call is a drawn out howl.

Observations in captivity show that the female's oestrus typically lasts five to eight days. The pairings take place over a short period of three to six days, with the partners copulating about 12 to 36 times per day. A sexual act takes 15 to 45 seconds. The boys are born after a gestation period of around 94 to 103 days. There are one to five, usually two to three youngsters in the litter, which are born between April and June in the wilderness, usually in the shelter of a rock cave. This is padded with the mother's hair. The young are very dark haired at birth, blind and weigh about 450 grams. They open their eyes after about seven days, and after about two months they start eating solid food. They stay with the mother for 18 to 22 months, which means that there are at least two years between two litters.

At the age of two to four months, the cubs begin to accompany their mother on the hunt. In the beginning, however, they are more of an obstacle than an aid to the mother. In captivity, snow leopards are sexually mature at around two to three years of age, but rarely reproduce before the age of four. Information on the average or maximum age of wild individuals is not available; in captivity, the oldest known snow leopard, Shynghyz, in Japan, lived to be 25 years old.

Natural enemies, diseases and parasites

The most important natural enemy and at the same time the greatest competitor is the wolf , in the southern parts of the distribution area the leopard is also a major competitor.

The extent to which snow leopards suffer from diseases and parasites in the wild has not been studied in detail. Cases of rabies have become known. Young animals often die of gastrointestinal infections in captivity . A heartworm was first detected in a zoo in Japan in 2003 .

Distribution area and existence

Distribution area of ​​the snow leopard

The snow leopard inhabits the high mountains of Central Asia. He is at home in the Himalayas as well as in the Hindu Kush , Pamir , Kunlun , Tianshan , Altai and neighboring mountain ranges. The northernmost occurrences are in the area of Lake Baikal , in the east the distribution area extends to eastern Tibet , in the south the Himalayas form the distribution limit and in the west the Hindu Kush. Most of the range is in Tibet and other parts of the People's Republic of China . Snow leopards live in twelve countries. It is unclear whether the cat is also found in Myanmar on the border with China, where at least potential habitats exist.

It is estimated that a total of 4,000 to 6,600 wild individuals are spread over an area of ​​1.8 million square kilometers. Of these, 550,000 square kilometers are considered a very good habitat. The potential distribution area is estimated at three million square kilometers.

threat

Endangered snow leopard on Russian postage stamp

The illegal but lucrative fur hunting has significantly reduced the populations of this big cat. The bones of the snow leopard are also popular in traditional Chinese medicine and fetch high prices. He is also persecuted for occasionally beating pets. The snow leopard is protected in all states in its range, but poaching is a problem that continues to endanger it. Hunting of its natural prey by humans also represents a serious threat to cats. In large parts of its range, the snow leopard has become very rare today. The species was listed as endangered by the IUCN until 2017, when its threatened status was classified as vulnerable , as the estimated number of adult individuals is greater than 2500 and it is believed that the population will be in 22.6 years is reduced by a maximum of 10%.

The snow leopard was added to Appendix I of the UN Convention for the Protection of Migratory Species as early as 1985 at the suggestion of Germany. With the exception of the Tibetan Plateau, all snow leopard populations are located precisely in the high mountain ranges that form both the natural and the national borders between the twelve countries of origin: Himalayas , Hindu Kush / Karakoram , Tianshan and Altai . There is a glaring lack of transnational cooperation in the entire range of the snow leopards. Especially in the border regions, snow leopards are threatened by poaching and the lack of prey. In addition, there is increasing evidence that members of the military and border guards are preying on both prey and snow leopards in the border regions. The NABU therefore calls for cross-border protection measures for the endangered snow leopard and welcomes the initiative of Tajikistan as part of the, Conference of the Parties stipulate concrete cross-border protection measures in an agreement.

A great danger for the snow leopard is that it is unloved as a cattle thief by the cattle breeders in its home regions and is also persecuted in many places. Strategies for avoiding attacks on pets are key to protecting the endangered cat. The snow leopard often uses domestic animals as a source of food, especially in areas with low populations of natural prey. Therefore, the protection of wild ungulates and compensation for damaged ranchers are crucial to the preservation of the snow leopard.

Occurrence by state

Population estimates of the snow leopard
country Stock size Year of indication
Afghanistan <100 2003
Bhutan 100-200 1994
China 2000-2500 1998
India 200-600 1994
Mongolia 500-1000 2000
Nepal 300-400 2009
Pakistan 200-420 2003
Russia 150-200 2003
Kazakhstan approx. 200 2001
Kyrgyzstan > 200? 2001
Tajikistan 180-220 2003
Uzbekistan 20-50 2003
Snow leopard in Afghanistan ( Wakhan District )
  • For Afghanistan , where the snow leopard occurs in the Pamir and Hindu Kush, hardly any information is available on the population. The cats, like their prey, are likely to have suffered severe losses from the decades of war. The distribution area includes the Wakhan Corridor and the southern parts of Badakhshan , where it has been identified from zebak . Alleged occurrences in the Ajar valley are unconfirmed.
  • In Bhutan are about 15,000 square kilometers of habitat for snow leopards. It should therefore house around 100 animals. The most important national park for the snow leopard is the Jigme Dorji National Park .
  • China is the country with the largest number of snow leopards and has 300,000 square kilometers of potentially good snow leopard habitat. Overall, over a million square kilometers are considered suitable. The total population for 1994 was estimated at 2000 to 2500 animals. The snow leopard occurs within China in the provinces or autonomous regions of Tibet , Xinjiang , Qinghai , Gansu , Sichuan and Yunnan . In Inner Mongolia , it is on the verge of extinction. In Gansu, most of the populations have also dropped dramatically. Some sub- populations, such as those in Mazong Shan and other northern mountains of the province, have become completely extinct. Smaller remnants are still in Gansu in the Yanchiwan nature reserve and in the Qilian Shan nature reserve. Hardly any data is available on the occurrence in Sichuan and Yunnan on the southeastern edge of the snow leopard range. Recently, however, the species could be detected by camera traps in the Wolong nature reserve . In the vast protected areas of the central Tibetan highlands, such as the Changtang Nature Reserve and the Arjinshan Nature Reserve, snow leopards are relatively rare, which is probably due to the low populations of blue sheep and the few steep slopes in this area. In the Tibet Autonomous Region, larger populations appear to be found mainly in the western part and on the border with Nepal and India. The Qomolangma Nature Reserve has a fairly good population. In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the total population in three reserves was estimated to be around 750 animals in the 1980s, of which around 15 lived in the Tomur Nature Reserve in Tian Shan . In this sanctuary, which is one of the largest snow leopard reserves in northwest China, the population has now been able to recover. Two studies in 2004 and 2005 found an estimated 40 to 65 and 80 to 130 animals in the reserve, respectively. In the Tian Shan the distribution area extends to the Mongolian border. Snow leopards are also found in Xinjiang in the Altai , Arjin Shan and Kunlun , which form the northern border of the Tibetan Plateau, and also in the Pamir and Karakoram on the western border areas with Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. One of the most important reserves in the Karakoram is the Taxkorgan Reserve , where in 1987 50 to 57 snow leopards were suspected. Here, however, the number has now fallen due to the falling prey populations. In Qinghai, the total population was estimated at around 650 animals in the 1980s.
Snow leopard in Hemis National Park
  • In India , the snow leopard is only found in the high mountain areas in the north of the country. The country was believed to be home to around 500 snow leopards in an area of ​​around 95,000 square kilometers in the 1980s. The vast majority of them live in Ladakh , where a large population lives in the Hemis National Park , for example . In the area of ​​the Spiti River in the north of the province of Himachal Pradesh , snow leopards feed largely on domestic animals. Nevertheless, cats are rarely followed here, mainly for religious and cultural reasons.
Tienshang Mountains
  • In Mongolia , where the snow leopard is only found in the mountains of the western half of the country, it is still quite widespread. The total population of the snow leopard in Mongolia is estimated at around 1,000 animals, which means that the country is home to around 13-22% of the world's population. The entire distribution area in the country covers about 130,000 square kilometers. The most important mountain ranges in Mongolia with occurrences of snow leopards are the Altai , the Khangai Mountains , the Chöwsgöl Mountains, the Transaltai-Gobi Mountains as well as Kharkhyral and Turgen Uul . The snow leopard has now disappeared from the Mongolian part of the Sayan and the Lake Baikal area . It is very rare in the Khangai and Chöwsgöl mountains, and may have already disappeared. It is also not common in the mountainous parts of the Transaltai-Gobi, but should still occur on most of the larger mountains. Overall, its occurrence is very similar to the Siberian ibex, its most important prey in Mongolia. Presumably the snow leopard has always been relatively rare in Mongolia, as in Russia. This applies in particular to the northern peripheral areas of the distribution area. The cat is hunted in Mongolia mainly for its fur. Occasionally she is stalked as a cattle robber. The snow leopard is found in some protected areas in the country such as the Khokh Serkh Reserve in the Altai. Other reserves where the snow leopard occurs are the Great Gobi B Conservation Area and the Gobi Gurwan Saichan National Park .
The Everest area is now part of the snow leopard habitat again on the Nepalese side.
  • In Pakistan the snow leopard lives exclusively in the mountain ranges of the northern parts of the country. The cat is found here in the districts of Chitral , Dir , Swat and Kohistan , in Gilgit-Baltistan and in the Muzaffarabad district. Pakistan has around 80,000 square kilometers of potential snow leopard habitat, of which around 40,000 square kilometers are considered very good habitats. The species is found in some of the country's protected areas, such as Chitral National Park and Khunjerab National Park . George B. Schaller cautiously estimated the population in Pakistan at 100 to 250 animals in 1976. A more recent estimate from 2003 assumes a total of around 320 to 400 snow leopards in all of Pakistan. It is essentially based on the extrapolation of a snow leopard count from 1998 to 2001 in the Baltistan region , where around 90 to 120 snow leopards are said to live alone. In this region, the screw goat and the Siberian ibex are the most important natural prey animals. The population densities of these ungulates are sometimes 0.5 per square kilometer. The greatest threat in Pakistan is the hunting of the snow leopard as a cattle thief and for fur production. At the moment, however, the pressure on the cat still seems to be moderate, as the cattle farmers in the area are poor and poorly organized. It is unclear whether the increasing trophy hunting , from which the local population partially benefits, represents a danger or an opportunity for the snow leopard and presumably depends on the respective conditions. High populations of natural prey may benefit the snow leopard in the first place, but the pressure on the cat to hunt could increase if the local population sees them as the enemy of this income.
The Russian Altai Mountains are among the northernmost occurrence areas.
  • Russia is home to the northernmost marginal populations of the snow leopard. Originally, the distribution area stretched from the Altai Mountains of the west to the upper reaches of Lena in the Baikal area. The distribution area extended in the northeast at least to the Balagansk area , in the southeast of the large Bratsk reservoir . At the beginning of the 20th century the species disappeared from the northern and western parts of the area. The withdrawal from the Baikal and Transbaikal areas probably took place with the disappearance of wild goats and wild sheep in this region. Today the occurrence is limited to the Altai and Sajan Mountains , including the Tuva and Tunka Mountains . Unconfirmed reports suggest that it still occurs in the south of the Chita region east of Lake Baikal . In the 1980s it was also found in the Kuznetsk Alatau and the Kanskoe Belogor'e , a northern branch of the Sayan south of Kansk . Hardly any tangible data is available on the population of the snow leopard in Russia. All information is based only on rough estimates. It is believed that around 150 to 200 snow leopards live in Russia, of which around 30 to 40 animals are found in the Chuja and Katu regions. A study that was carried out with the help of camera traps and track analyzes in the western Sayan Mountains between January and March 2008 came to the conclusion that an area of ​​around 120 square kilometers in the area of ​​the Sayano-Schuschensk Reserve was visited by a total of six snow leopards. At this time of the year, the animals mainly inhabit steep south and east slopes between 540 and 1200 meters above sea level. The sanctuary is home to around 15 snow leopards and is one of the key sanctuaries for the snow leopard in the Sajan Mountains. The habitats in the Russian Altai are protected by the Altai Conservation Area and the Katun Conservation Area .
  • The occurrences in Uzbekistan are on the western border of the total distribution area and are located in the western Tienshan and Pamir - Alai , for example the Gissar nature reserve . It is assumed that there are only around 20 to 50 animals in Uzbekistan.

Existed in captivity

About 580 snow leopards live in zoological gardens and similar facilities (as of 1994). Offspring are regularly raised in captivity. Instead of the average litter size of two to three, up to seven young animals have been born here.

Evolution and systematics

The skull of the snow leopard is characterized by a relatively short snout.
Eating in a crouched position.

The snow leopard is one of the big cats (Pantherinae), but has a special position in some characteristics. Although, like the lion, jaguar, leopard, and tiger, it has a non-ossified, elastic hyoid bone , which was previously associated with the ability to roar, the snow leopard does not roar. Recent studies show that the ability to roar is primarily related to the specific morphology of the larynx . The snow leopard does not have this larynx morphology any more than small cats. Because of this anatomical peculiarity, it is the only big cat that is able to purr like domestic cats . Another characteristic distinguishes it from the four species mentioned: it eats its prey in a crouching position, like small cats, and not lying down like typical large cats. In addition, the skull is characterized by a short snout and a high forehead.

The snow leopard was originally assigned to the genus Panthera , but has since been assigned to the separate genus Uncia due to the special features mentioned . However, recent molecular genetic studies show that it actually belongs to the genus Panthera . However , the systematic position within the genus Panthera has not yet been fully clarified. For a long time, genetic analyzes did not provide uniform interpretations, since the genus Panthera only split up into different species a few million years ago, and apparently in a relatively short time. Analyzes of several mitochondrial genes in various studies initially indicated that the snow leopard is at the base of the genus, i.e. that the other species only developed apart after the snow leopard split off. Other studies of mitochondrial DNA, however, placed the snow leopard as a sister species to the tiger. With the addition of other mitochondrial genes and cell nucleus DNA, the leopard was assumed to be a sister species. Another study that unraveled the entire mitochondrial genome of the snow leopard ultimately concluded that it is most likely a sister species of the lion. This result was confirmed by another recent study, in which the entire mitochondrial DNA sequence was taken into account when analyzing the degree of relationship.

A cladogram of the recent big cats would look like this:



 Clouded leopard ( Neofelis )


   

 Tiger ( panthera tigris )


   

 Jaguar ( Panthera onca )


   

 Leopard ( panthera pardus )


   

 Lion ( panthera leo )


   

 Snow leopard ( Panthera uncia )







Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style

The genetic evidence suggests that the snow leopard line separated from the lion line about four to five million years ago. Around this time there was a strong uplift in the northwestern highlands of Tibet . Presumably the ancestors of the snow leopard reached these alpine areas for the first time and slowly adapted to the conditions. The most important steps in specifying the snow leopard, however, probably took place around 1.7 million years ago, when the Tibetan highlands had almost reached their current level.

Until recently, only a few fossils of the snow leopard were known from the late Pleistocene , which come from the Altai Mountains on the western border of Mongolia. But more recent finds from the Siwaliks in northern Pakistan show that the cat was probably common here 1.2 to 1.4 million years ago. However, the snow leopard seems to have always been restricted to the Asian continent. Alleged finds from the Young Pleistocene of Europe come from leopards or large lynxes.

Snow leopards look very similar throughout their range. Animals of the Himalayas hardly differ optically from animals of the Altai Mountains. On the basis of the aberrant coat color of a few individuals, up to three subspecies have been suggested. Panthera uncia schneideri (specimen from Sikkim ), Panthera uncia uncioides (fur from Nepal) and Panthera uncia uncia . The Handbook of the Mammals of the World distinguishes P. u. uncia from Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia as well as P. u. uncioides from West China and the Himalayan region. Genetic studies on the controversial subspecies have not yet been carried out.

The snow leopard in culture

The coat of arms of the Kazakh city of Almaty
The Snow Leopard Order

As a charismatic animal, the snow leopard is generally met with great sympathy worldwide. Its shyness and rarity contribute to a certain mystification. His Kyrgyz title “Spirit of the Mountains” is used by western nature conservation organizations, for example. In contrast, it is often considered a pest by the ranchers in its home countries.

The snow leopard is a national symbol for Tatars and Kazakhs . In the coat of arms of the cities of Almaty , Nur-Sultan (both Kazakhstan), Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and Bishkek ( Kyrgyzstan ) there is a snow leopard, which is sometimes winged. The former 10,000 tenge banknote (Kazakh currency) was adorned with a snow leopard. The national coat of arms of Tatarstan and Khakassia shows a stylized , winged snow leopard. In addition, the snow leopard adorns the logo of the ice hockey clubs Ak Bars Kazan and Barys Nur-Sultan , as the names of these clubs can be translated as "Snow leopard Kazan" and "Snow leopard Astana".

The Snow Leopard Order comes from Soviet times and is still awarded today by the CIS states to mountaineers who have successfully climbed all five seven-thousand-meter peaks in the successor states of the Soviet Union .

One version of the Apple operating system is called Snow Leopard , the English name for snow leopard: Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 .

Attacks on people

Attacks on people have hardly been known to date. The only two cases reported in the literature occurred near Almaty . A rabid animal attacked two men here on July 12, 1940, seriously injuring them before it was killed. Another very old animal also attacked a person in the Almaty area, but was incapacitated with a club and killed.

literature

  • Thomas Bauer: Nurbu - In the realm of the snow leopard. Wiesenburg Verlag, Schweinfurt 2012, ISBN 978-3-942063-89-0
  • Peter Matthiessen: On the trail of the snow leopard . Malik / National Geographic, Munich 2000, ISBN 978-3492400893 (orig. The Snow Leopard , Viking Books, New York 1978, ISBN 978-0099771111 )
  • Eckard Gehm: Snow leopard (Uncia uncia). Spirit of the mountains. Verlag Wildpark Lüneburger Heide, Hanstedt-Nindorf 2002, ISBN 3-00-009603-5 (German / English)
  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
  • ME Sunquist & FC Sunquist (2009): Family Felidae (Cats). (Pp. 128-130). In: DE Wilson, RA Mittermeier (ed.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1

Web links

Commons : Snow leopard ( Panthera uncia )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Snow leopard  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans W. Kothe: Big cats . ISBN 978-3-86146-361-0 , pp. 278 .
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  10. ↑ a b Muhammad Bilal Anwar, Rodney Jackson, Muhammad Sajid Nadeem, Jan E. Janečka, Shafqat Hussain, Mirza Azhar Beg, Ghulam Muhammad & Mazhar Qayyum: Food habits of the snow leopard Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775) in Baltistan, Northern Pakistan . Eur J Wildl Res, 2011. doi: 10.1007 / s10344-011-0521-2
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  17. ^ Snow Leopard Network: Snow Leopard Survival Strategy. Revised 2014 version. Snow Leopard Network, Seattle, Washington 2014. PDF
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  33. ↑ Petra Kaczensky, Namtar Enkhsaikhan, Oyunsaikhan Ganbaatar and Chris Walzer: The Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia - refuge or sink for wolves Canis lupus in the Gobi. Wildlife Biology 14 (4): pp. 444-456. 2008.
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  50. ↑ The Spirit of the Mountains - Report on the status of the snow leopard on the NABU side
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on March 7, 2012 in this version .