Learn

Awakening in its mountain den, the beautiful and mysterious Snow Leopard pads over to the cave entrance and sniffs the cold, thin air. The sun rises over the craggy peaks of the Himalayas, the loftiest mountains in the world, and the Snow Leopard emerges onto the snow pack. With large padded paws covered in thick fur, the 150-pound cat can gracefully traverse the snow without sinking, as if on snowshoes. Her luxuriously thick gray coat covered in charcoal colored spots, keeps her dry and protects against the frigid temperatures.

Reaching the far edge of the glinting snowfield, the leopard spies a mountain goat foraging on a rocky outcropping just across the gully. Without hesitation she springs into the air, 5 feet of spotted gray fur trailed by a thick tail almost as long. Landing on the slope just above the mountain goat, she immediately regains her balance from the 45-foot leap with the help of her large tail. Before the goat can react, she pounces and inflicts a lethal bite to the goat’s neck.

Refortified, the Snow Leopard returns to the den where her 3 cubs wait for her. Having lined the cave with some of her own fur, the Snow Leopard has created a warm and cozy home for her cubs.

Today is a big day. The cubs born blind in the spring, are almost 6 weeks old, and have gained their vision. They are ready to accompany their mother into the world for the first time. Mother hunts in the pale light of dawn and dusk, so they’ll play inside and nap under their mother’s watchful eye until later.

Because they live as high as 17,000 feet in the rocky terrain of the Central Asian mountain ranges, very few people have seen Snow Leopards, let alone had the opportunity to study them. With only about 6,000 left in the world, they are a rare sight and have been placed on the Endangered Species List.

Some scientists look at the health of the Snow Leopard population as a reflection of the health of that environment. They call it an “indicator species”. The Snow Leopard is at the top of the food chain. If there are plenty of healthy Snow Leopards in an area, then there is probably a healthy local ecosystem providing food, water and shelter. Therefore, any efforts to save the Snow Leopard from extinction have to include safeguarding their home territories.

Speaking of home territories, the sun is about to sink below the highest crags, and the little Snow Leopard cubs are ready for their first expedition. Mother leads the way and the 3 scamper out onto the snow, green eyes sparkling with excitment.

The lead cub stops short in surprise at the cold, wet surface and his two siblings plow into him from behind. Jostling and nipping at each other in fun, they work to regain their footing and cavort over to where mother patiently waits.

There is a faint rustling in the low bushes off to the left. There aren’t too many birds at this altitude and mother is happy to have such a perfect lesson for her cubs. The bird hops out onto the snow and just as it takes off, mother leaps and catches it with her mouth in mid-air. She bats it over to her cubs with her huge paw. In the fading light of dusk, the 3 cubs eat their dinner. It’s been a successful outing and they all head back to the den, tussling with one another all the way home.