Field guide · legendary

Snow Leopard

Ghost of the Himalaya — a pale spotted cat that prowls above the tree line where oxygen is thin and prey is scarce.

Vulnerable

Overview

The snow leopard is one of the world's most elusive big cats — thick-furred, pale, and rosette-spotted, adapted to life between 3,000 and 5,500 metres in the mountains of Central Asia. Its long tail wraps around the body for warmth and aids balance on near-vertical cliffs.

Snow leopards cannot roar — unlike lions and tigers, they chuff, hiss, and wail. They hunt ibex and blue sheep across vast home ranges, and a single glimpse of a tail disappearing over a ridge is considered a lifetime prize.

Habitat

High alpine and subalpine zones in the Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, and mountains of Central Asia hold snow leopards. They need rugged terrain with cliff cover and abundant wild prey, spanning twelve countries from Nepal to Mongolia.

Countries found

Interesting facts

01
Snow leopards cannot roar — they chuff, hiss, and growl instead.
02
Their tail can be as long as their body — used for balance and warmth.
03
Snow leopards can leap six times their body length across mountain gaps.

Conservation status

VU — Vulnerable

Snow leopards are Vulnerable, with perhaps 4,000 to 7,000 remaining. Poaching, retaliatory killing for livestock, and habitat loss threaten populations across their range.