Snow leopard

The snow leopard is a beautiful mountain cat that lives high up in the cold, rocky mountains of Asia. Its fur is a soft whitish-grey with dark spots and rings, which makes it very hard to see against the snow and stone. This clever coat helps the snow leopard stay hidden as it moves.

Everything about the snow leopard is built for the cold, high mountains. It has thick, warm fur, and a very long, fluffy tail. When a snow leopard rests, it can curl that tail around its body like a cozy scarf to keep warm.

Snow leopards are strong and graceful climbers. Their powerful back legs let them leap a very long way, even across the steep mountain slopes where they live. They use their long tail to help them balance as they jump from rock to rock.

Snow leopards hunt animals like wild mountain sheep and goats, such as blue sheep and ibex. They live alone and roam across huge areas of mountain, so it is rare for people to ever see one in the wild.

There are only a few thousand snow leopards left in the wild, so they need our care. They can lose their mountain homes, and sometimes there are not enough wild animals for them to eat. Many people who live in the mountains are now helping to protect snow leopards and the wild places they call home.