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Snow Leopard Facts & Worksheets

Snow Leopards, scientifically known as Panthera uncia, are part of the wildcat family.

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Snow Leopards, scientifically known as Panthera uncia, are part of the wildcat family. They are known as the “Ghost of the Mountain” because they are rarely seen out in the open.
Snow leopards play a key role as both a top predator and as an indicator of the health of their high-altitude habitat, ranging from an elevation of about 6,000 feet in the winter to about 18,000 feet in the summer. However, they have already disappeared from parts of Mongolia.
They are known for being extremely secretive and well camouflaged.

See the fact file below for more information on the snow leopards or alternatively, you can download our 27-page Snow Leopard worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

TAXONOMY

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Carnivora
  • Family: Felidae
  • Genus: Panthera
  • Species: Uncia

CHARACTERISTICS

  • Head & Body: 146-300 cm (57-118 inches)
  • Tail: 72-109 cm (30-40 inches)
  • Weight: 21-55 kg (46- 121 lbs)
  • Snow leopards are perfectly adapted to the cold and dry habitats in which they live. Its powerful build allows it to live and hunt effectively.
  • Snow leopards are known for their beautiful, thick fur, which is a yellow or smoky-gray coat patterned with ringed spots of dark gray or brown. The fur is made up of hair between 5 and 12 cm (2.0 and 4.7 in) long and the markings help camouflage it.
  • It has a whitish belly and its eyes are pale green or gray in color.
  • Its powerful hind legs give the snow leopard the ability to leap six times the length of its body.
  • It has a flexible furry tail that can be as long as their bodies, which enhances balance and agility. It’s also used for keeping warm by wrapping around the body or covering the face.
  • It has short forelimbs with large paws for walking on snow.
  • Snow leopards have long fur with a woolly undercoat, small and rounded ears, a well-developed chest and an enlarged nasal cavity.
  • Like other cats, snow leopards use scent marks to indicate their territories and frequent travel routes.

HUNTING & DIET

  • Snow leopards are crepuscular animals, meaning they’re active and hunt primarily at dawn and dusk.
  • It’s an opportunistic hunter, stalking their prey from above and usually springing from a distance of 20 – 50 feet.
  • They kill with a bite to the neck and may drag the prey to a safe location before feeding.
  • It can kill animals two to four times its own weight.
  • The diet of the snow leopard varies across its range, with the time of year and on prey availability.
  • They are top predators in mountainous regions which are rich with their prey such as blue sheep, Argali wild sheep, ibex, marmots, pikas and hares. They also hunt large birds like snow cock and chukor. They are known to eat domestic livestock and carrion (dead animals).

REPRODUCTION & LIFECYCLE

  • Snow leopards are solitary in nature, pairing only during the breeding season.
  • Mother snow leopards have a gestation period of 90–100 days and can give birth to 2-3 cubs. The mother gives birth in rocky dens lined with fur shed from her underside.
  • Cubs are small and helpless when they are born and do not open their eyes until they are about 7 days old.
  • At 2 months old, cubs are ready to eat solid food.
  • At 3 months old, they begin following their mother and start to learn important behavior like hunting.
  • Females raise their cubs all alone and the cubs stay with their mother until they become independent at around 18 months old.
  • Snow leopards become sexually mature at two to four years old.
  • They have an average lifespan of between 15 to 18 years, although in captivity they can live for up to 25 years.

HABITAT

  • Snow leopards are native to the snowy and rugged highlands of Central Asia spanning 2 million square kilometers. They are found in 12 countries such as China, Bhutan, Nepal, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.
  • China contains as much as 60% of the snow leopard’s habitat.
  • Snow leopards prefer to inhabit steep cliff areas, rocky outcrops and ravines. Such habitat provides them with the camouflage they need to ambush unsuspecting prey.

CONSERVATION

  • The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Snow leopards are facing a number of threats and their population is dropping.
  • Below are some of the reasons for their declining numbers:
    • Poaching – illegal hunting for their fur and their bones used in traditional Asian medicine.
    • Loss of prey – A decline in numbers of wild prey due to hunting.
    • Habitat fragmentation and unsustainable land development.
    • Hunting and killing by local farmers because of stock loss.
    • Climate change poses a threat to snow leopards as it can result in a 30% loss of habitat
    • Lack of awareness and support. Herders living with snow leopards sometimes do not understand the importance of them in the ecosystem and why they need to be protected.
    • The sole predator of snow leopards is humans.
  • Snow leopard numbers are unknown given they are extremely elusive and challenging to survey. Today, scientist estimate that there may only be between 4,500 and 10,000 snow leopards left in the wild.

Snow Leopard Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about snow leopards across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Snow Leopard worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Snow Leopards, scientifically known as Panthera uncia, which are part of the wildcat family. They are known as the “Ghost of the Mountain” because they are rarely seen out in the open.
Snow leopards play a key role as both a top predator and as an indicator of the health of their high-altitude habitat, ranging from an elevation of about 6,000 feet in the winter to about 18,000 feet in the summer. However, they have already disappeared from parts of Mongolia.
They are known for being extremely secretive and well camouflaged.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Snow Leopard Facts
  • Panthera Lineage
  • The Magnificent Cat
  • Life Cycle
  • Wild Cat
  • Status: Vulnerable
  • Conservation
  • Snowy Puzzle
  • Word Search
  • King of the Mountain
  • Spotty Article

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Link will appear as Snow Leopard Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 7, 2018

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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