Snow+Leopards+(Version+2)

**Snow Leo﻿pard ** //Uncia uncia// or //Panthera uncia//
 * = **Domain** ||=  ||
 * = **Kingdom** ||= **Animalia** ||
 * = **Phylum** ||= **Chordata** ||
 * = **Class** ||= **Mammalia** ||
 * = **Order** ||= **Carnivora** ||
 * = **Family** ||= **Felidae** ||
 * = **Genus** ||= **Uncia** ||
 * = **Species** ||= **uncia** ||

Basic Information
The snow leopards is a large cat that lives in and above the tree line in Central Asian mountains. They are also found in areas ranging from Afghanistan to Lake Baikal, near the Mongolian Border and East Tibet. These felines are also known as ounce or irbis. The length of their body including their head is about 39 to 57 inches long and their tail alone, is 31-39 inches long. They weigh about 55-60 pounds and have very different features than that of regular leopards. Their skull shape and color pattern are different than the leopards who reside in jungles and the rainforest. They have a pale gray to smoky gray color with creamy accents. This helps them better adapt to the environment they live in, the snow. Snow Leopards are well adapted to their cold environments with their long and thick fur, wide paws to walk in snow, smaller ears to prevent heat loss, and also extra fur on their underbellies to keep them warm.Their head, neck, and low leg show defined spots while other spots on their body form irregularly in different areas. media type="youtube" key="aIVcg0eGEsg" height="172" width="233" align="center"

Habitat
Snow leopards live in the high rugged mountains of Central asia that go through 12 different countries. Snow leopards live in a harsh and remote environment in the mountains and the area is usually cold and dry. Their territory covers up to 2 million kilometers in asia, mostly China. The habitat that snow leopards reside in is mainly cold and dry and sparsely vegetated. The location consists of steep, broken terrain of cliffs, rocky outcrops, and ravines. Snow leopards are found between 3,000 & 5,400 meters above sea level. Only shrubs and low ground plants grow in these areas. This provides much benefit to the leopards because they are able to have clear view of prey and and good cover for hiding.

**Physiology **
The snow leopard has a short, broad, and small head, smaller nasal bones, and an enlarged cavity which is most likely adapted for its cold environment. Their long tail and long hind legs also attribute to their agility. Snow leopards have an open circulatory system and exceptional nervous system. Like humans, snow leopards have a 4 chamber heart, consisting of a left atrium, right atrium, and two ventricles. They also have blood vessels and veins that move blood through their body to different organs. Their nervous system helps the cat to learn and master its movements. They also help with remembering territory and who their mother is. Their digestive system takes 3-4 days for a leopard to fully devour one regularly sized animal.

﻿Species Interactions
﻿Snow leopards do not usually interact with other animals besides mating or while hunting prey. These leopards, like most felines, are solitary and do not favor being in groups. They are shy and elusive animals and are rarely seen in public. Leopards are the most active at dawn and dusk. They interact with their prey, goats and ibex, during hunting and use sneaky hunting tactics to capture them. Their only other interaction is with female leopards while they are in estrus, having their period to mate.

﻿Reproduction
﻿ Leopards breed in late winter (January through March) and stayin gestation for 90-100 days, having the baby in April through July. The female stays in estrus 2-8 days, and to ensure fertilization, the male and female have intercourse 12 to 36 times a day. After estrus, the male and female go their seperate ways and never run into each other again. The mom has her cubs in a fur lined den and they remain in there for 2-4 months until they are old enough to walk. After they mature over a course of 18-22 months, the mother leopard sends her cubs on their way.

**Free Topic: Conservation of Snow Leopard**
Snow leopards have became endangered animals due to the killing of them for sale of their fur. Snow leopards are also being taken to be shown in zoos. There are approximately 500 leopards in 150 zoos worldwide. Although they are taken to be shown in zoos, the zoos are apart of the conservation project of maintaining a population so they can be released into the wild.

**Works Cited**
Picture 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard Picture 3: [] Picture 4: []

Hershkovitz, Philip. "Snow Leopard." //Encyclopedia Americana.// Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2011.