A snow leopard (Photo courtesy of istockphoto.com)
Snow Leopards are felines that live in central and south Asia. Most snow leopards live in China. Snow leopards are not aggressive toward humans; because people do not understand snow leopards, they think they are vicious and eat humans. Furthermore, poachers just kill them to sell and get money. If you watch videos on Youtube you will see that snow leopards are beautiful when they’re in action. Snow Leopards are extraordinary animals that should be saved because they camouflage with the snow, eat different types of animals, and have thick and fluffy fur.
First, snow leopards are extraordinary because you can barely see them. They have top-notch camouflage to blend in with the mountains. This comes in handy when they are hunting mountain goats who are quick on their feet. In the photo, you can barely see the snow leopards. It is almost scary. The snow leopard’s coat camouflages with rock and snow. Furthermore, snow leopards can have cool eye colors, such as blue, green, and gray that help them camouflage as well.
Another reason why snow leopards are extraordinary creatures is that they eat many different animals. Its preferred prey are mountain goats and sheep. Snow leopards usually feed on big prey but they sometimes hunt smaller prey like rats, mice, marmots, and voles. They can kill any animal in their territory except an adult male yak. Snow leopards are capable of surviving two weeks with one sheep in their stomach.
Finally, snow leopards’ fabulous fur is thick and fluffy to protect them from the cold. The fur contains two layers for extra insulation. It is extremely dense with 26,000 hairs in a square inch. Snow leopards need their fur because the temperature in their habitat can drop down to -40 degrees celsius. Their fluffy fur is very valuable because they can be made into coats and hats, this is why poachers kill them.
People should learn how extraordinary snow leopards are and stop them from going extinct. There are between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild because of poachers. On the internet, there are charities to help stop the snow leopard from getting poached. In India, people are building predator-proof livestock cages to stop the leopards from getting in. This will reduce the number of “revenge” kills. Wildlife crews are monitoring snow leopards with radio collars and cameras to make sure poachers don’t kill them. These efforts will guide snow leopards away from extinction and save central Asia’s ecosystem.
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