International Snow Leopard Day:- Top facts about the ‘King of Snowy Mountains’

A snow leopard cub is seen in the wildlife zoo in Xining, capital of northwest China’s Qinghai Province. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), one of the world’s most mysterious big cats, is native to the snow-capped mountains in central and southern Asia, inhabiting the Himalayas for 2 million years as a top predator. The global population of snow leopards has been decreasing due to factors such as climate change, poaching, habitat fragmentation, and less prey. The endangered cat is a Class A protected animal in China and classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. October 23 marks the International Snow Leopard Day, a global call to action for the protection of the “King of the Snowy Mountains.”

Some top facts about the Snow leopards:- 

1. THEY’RE WELL ADAPTED TO THEIR COLD ENVIRONMENT
2.  IN NEPAL, THEIR MAIN PREY ARE BLUE SHEEP…WHICH AREN’T ACTUALLY BLUE
3. SNOW LEOPARDS LIVE AT HIGH ALTITUDES, USUALLY AT ELEVATIONS OF 3,000-4,500m.
4. THEY CAN’T ROAR
5. THEY’RE MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO TIGERS THAN THEY ARE LEOPARDS
6. THEY HAVE NATURAL SNOWSHOES
7. THEY CAN NEARLY COVER THE DISTANCE OF A MARATHON IN ONE NIGHT
8. SNOW LEOPARDS ARE REALLY WELL CAMOUFLAGED!
9. LONG JUMP CHAMPIONS
10. THEY’RE UNDER THREAT FROM HUMAN ACTIVITY