Snow Leopard
It lives in the high mountains of Asia
This splendid feline is an animal of the high mountains of Asia, able to live at altitude and to withstand hard winters, thanks to its thick fur.
Its grey-cream coat with pale yellow and beige spots surrounded by a black ring is an excellent camouflage, particularly in the snow-covered undergrowth in winter. Its feet are broad with hair-covered pads offering protection against the cold.
The Snow Leopard can be more than 1m20 long, apart from a one-metre long tail that it uses to hold the balance on rocky crests, in pursuit of its prey. In summer, it hunts moufflons and ibexes in high altitudes.
In the winter, its menu consists of wild boar and little animals from the lower-altitude valleys and forests. Very supple and powerful, the Snow Leopard can make extraordinary jumps thanks to its spring-shaped muscles.
The female gives birth to a litter of four to five cubs which it raises in a den, usually a well-protected rocky shelter.
Much hunted for its fur, this superb animal is seriously threatened, with only a few thousand of them still remaining in the wild.
Two Snow Leopards
A male and a female live in the « Jardin des Mondes ». The female is Laya and the male Jeti.
An "endangered" species
- Name : Snow Leopard
- Latin name : Uncia uncia
- Origin : Central Asia, Siberia, Mongolia and North-West China
- IUCN status : Endangered
- Cites : Appendix I
