SNOW LEOPARD

The Snow Leopard

Known as the 'ghost of the mountains,' the snow leopard roams the high, remote peaks of Central Asia — a landscape so harsh and inaccessible that even scientists rarely see them. These elusive big cats are perfectly adapted to life at altitudes up to 5,500 meters, where oxygen is thin and temperatures plunge to -40°C.

Snow leopards are perfectly engineered for cold, high-altitude life: large paws that act like snowshoes, a long thick tail for balance and warmth, and a chest that can expand to breathe thin air. Their smoky gray coat, patterned with dark rosettes, provides perfect camouflage against the rocky mountainsides. They are incredibly agile — capable of leaping 15 meters in a single bound.

But this mountain ghost is being pushed to higher elevations and smaller ranges. Climate change is warming the mountains, pushing the snow line up and fragmenting the alpine habitat that snow leopards depend on. Herders are moving into snow leopard territory. Prey animals are being hunted out. And retaliatory killings — when a snow leopard takes a domestic animal — are on the rise.