If you are lucky enough to see this beautiful mountain cat, you will not forget such a moment for the rest of your life. This is a miracle of nature called the snow leopard.
Snow leopard, leopard are other names for this animal. Mountain and snow predators are called due to the fact that they live high in the snowy mountains.
Irbis: animal description
The snow leopard is a large predator. Its weight is from 40 to 60 kg, body length is about 130-145 cm, add to this a meter-long tail. In shape, the snow leopard animal resembles a leopard or an ordinary domestic cat. The paws of the leopard are armed with narrow, sharp, curved claws. The limbs are so powerful that with their help the beast is able to jump over a gorge 9-10 m wide.
Wild cats irbis are distinguished by their beautiful "fur coat". Their coat is very long, lush, thick and soft to the touch. In such attire, animals, even on frosty mountain peaks, are protected from the cold. Usually predators from the cat family of smaller sizes can boast of such fur, so the leopard is somewhat unique.in the cat kingdom.
The color of the coat is light gray with a beautiful "wild" pattern in the form of dark rosettes. The belly and the inside of the limbs are white. In the natural habitat, such a “dress” helps the predator to disguise itself at the right moments. It is interesting that, despite the loud title "predator", this cat does not know how to growl at all; in moments of anger, it hisses and purrs, creating a semblance of a growl. During the rut, the snow leopard makes sounds resembling a purr. In captivity, the leopard can live 27-28 years, in the natural environment, the life expectancy of these predators does not exceed 20 years.
Irbis animal: where it lives in the wild
Big wild cats don't usually live high in the mountains. The snow leopard is an exception to the rule, it lives in an environment of rocky placers, steep gorges in rocky highlands. Not only because of the beautiful appearance, but also because of the habitat, the irbis is considered unique. The snow leopard is found in the mountains of Central Asia, its range covers an area of more than 1230 thousand square meters. km. In Russia, the leopard occupied about 3% of the total area.
Lifestyle
Snow leopard is the owner and individual farmer. This beautiful predatory "cat" occupies a certain territory, marks it, carefully defends and protects it from uninvited guests. The snow leopard animal violates the solitary lifestyle only during the mating season.
When a wild cat checks the boundaries of her territory, she always goes one route. She, like other representativesof the feline family, it is difficult to move on loose snow. For this reason, predators lay paths along the snow crust, along which they move freely and quickly. Such a powerful beast has practically no enemies among animals. When the year is hungry, the snow leopard can fight with packs of wolves for the right to have long-awaited prey, which is extremely dangerous. The main and, one might say, the only enemy of the leopards is man.
Diet
The favorite hunting time for the snow leopard is twilight. If there is enough prey on the territory of the site belonging to the snow leopard, it feeds without violating the boundaries. If there is little food, a predatory cat goes in search of it, approaching human settlements and attacking livestock. Among wild animals, the menu of the mountain beauty includes: goats, elks, rams, wild sheep, deer, marmots, hares, mice and other mammals. As an addition to meat "dishes", leopards eat plant foods in the form of grass and other green parts of plants. If we talk about the strength of the snow leopard, then it can easily cope with prey of equal size, and can also hunt game that is superior in size and strength.
Reproduction
The snow leopard is a rare predator due to the slow rate of reproduction. Babies from these wild cats are not born every year, unlike other relatives. Sexual maturity in snow leopards occurs at the age of three. Snow leopards arrange their weddings in early spring, the mating season takes place in March-April. After fertilization, the female leopard bears cubs for 100 days. One litter may containfrom one to five kittens.
Babies are born completely helpless. Newborn leopards are blind and deaf, their weight is about half a kilogram. The mother predator feeds her cubs with her milk for up to 4 months. When they are 50-60 days old, the female begins to feed the crumbs with meat. From the age of six months, kittens already accompany their mother on the hunt and learn this skill.
Interesting facts about the snow leopard
- Translated from the Turkic dialect, the name "irbis" means "snow cat".
- Bars is able to easily jump up to 5-6 m in length. According to the hunters, in critical situations, the predator can “fly over” a gorge 10 meters long.
- Wild cat loves to play, especially frolic, wallow in the snow.
- When meeting with a person does not light up with aggression, tries to leave and hide as soon as possible.
- About once every two weeks, a leopard kills one large animal and feeds on this carcass for about 3-4 days.
- Can migrate following wild goats up to 600 km.
On the brink of extinction
As mentioned earlier, the snow leopard animal, unfortunately, does not belong to numerous species. The following reasons led to the fact that the snow leopard was on the verge of extinction:
- Late puberty.
- Low reproduction rates.
- Decrease in the number of the main food of snow leopards - wild artiodactyl animals.
- Scattered habitats in the wild.
- Mass extermination of snow leopards due totheir valuable fur.
It's good that now people have come to their senses and are engaged in the restoration and conservation of this type of wild cats. Irbis is listed in the Red Book as a predator on the verge of extinction. Almost all countries in the world have banned leopard hunting. Let's hope that the fauna of the planet Earth will not lose such a wonderful representative as the snow leopard.
