View source for Snow leopard

{{Speciesbox
| name = Snow leopard
| image =Irbis4.JPG
| image_caption =
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=Panthera uncia |name-list-style=amp |author=McCarthy, T. |author2=Mallon, D. |author3=Jackson, R. |author4=Zahler, P. |author5=McCarthy, K. |year=2017 |page=e.T22732A50664030}}</ref>
| genus = Panthera
| species = uncia
| authority = ([[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreber]], 1775)
| range_map = SnowLeopard distribution.jpg
| range_map_caption = Distribution of snow leopard, 2017<ref name=iucn/>
| synonyms = :''Uncia uncia'' {{small|[[Reginald Innes Pocock|Pocock]], 1930}}
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = :{{small|[[#Taxonomy and evolution|See text]]}}
}}
[[File:Snow leopard portrait-2010-07-09.jpg|thumb|right|Closeup of a male]]

The '''snow leopard''' (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the '''Irbis''' and '''ounce''', is a feline, which lives in central [[Asia]]. It used to be thought not to be closely related to the smaller [[leopard]], which is why they were put in different [[genera]] before. However, recent research has discovered this is not correct. The cat is closely related to the other big cats in the genus ''[[Panthera]]''.
== Appearance ==
Snow leopards are about 2-5 [[metre|meters]] long in the body, and have a 90-100 centimeter long [[tail]]. They weigh up to 75 [[kilogram]]s. They have grey and white [[fur]] with dark rosettes and spots, and their tails have stripes. Its fur is very long and thick to protect it against the cold. Their [[feet]] are also big and furry, which helps them to walk on [[snow]] more easily. They use their long tails for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against the severe mountain chill.
== Voice ==
They are one of the cats which cannot purr: "In five cat species ([[lion]], [[tiger]], [[jaguar]], [[leopard]] and snow leopard) the epihyoideum is an elastic [[ligament]], whereas in all other species of the Felidae the epihyal is completely ossified (bony)... those felids with an elastic epihyoid are able to roar but not purr, while species with a completely ossified hyoid are able to purr but not to roar".<ref name=W>{{cite journal | last = Weissengruber G.E. | display-authors = etal| title = Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (''Panthera leo''), jaguar (''Panthera onca''), tiger (''Panthera tigris''), cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') and domestic cat (''Felis silvestris f. catus'') | journal = Journal of Anatomy  | year = 2002| volume = 201| issue = 3| pages=195–209 | doi =10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x | pmid = 12363272| pmc = 1570911 | issn = 0021-8782 }}</ref> Despite this, it seems now that snow leopards cannot roar, though they can make a number of other sounds.<ref name=W/>
== Hunting ==
Snow leopards are well [[camouflage]]d, and are [[crepuscular]] (most active at [[dawn]] and [[dusk]]). They stalk and eat medium-sized prey like ibex, markhor, bharal (mountain [[sheep]]) and wild [[goats]] and awhile is hair [[yak]]s . It can survive on a single sheep for two weeks.

Snow leopards prefer to [[ambush]] prey from above, using broken terrain to conceal their approach. They try to land on the sheep, and kill it directly. If the sheep runs, they pursue it down steep mountainsides, using the momentum of their initial leap to chase prey for up to {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

They kill with a bite to the neck, and may drag the prey to a safe location before feeding. They consume all edible parts of the carcass, and can survive on a single bharal (blue sheep) for two weeks before hunting again. Annual prey needs is 20–30 adult bharals.<ref name="iucnredlist1">[http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/22732/0 ''Panthera uncia'' (Ounce, Snow Leopard)]. Iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 2012-08-23.</ref>
== Habitats ==
In summer, snow leopards usually live above the [[tree line]] on mountainous meadows and in rocky regions at altitudes from {{Convert|2700|to|6550|m|ft|abbr=on}}. In winter, they come down into the forests to altitudes around {{Convert|1200|to|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Snow leopards prefer broken terrain, and can travel without difficulty in snow up to {{convert|85|cm|in|abbr=on}} deep, although they prefer to use existing trails made by other animals.<ref>Sunquist, Mel & Sunquist, Fiona 2002. ''Wild cats of the world''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 377–394. {{ISBN|0-226-77999-8}}</ref>

They live alone. After a [[pregnancy]] of about a hundred days the female gives birth to 2 or 3 cubs. Snow leopards are protected in most of the countries they live in. However, people do still kill them for their fur, or to protect their cattle.
== Distribution ==
The snow leopard has a huge range in central [[Asia]].<ref>[http://snowleopardconservancy.org/text/how/range.htm A map of the snow leopard’s range] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524102438/http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/text/how/range.htm |date=2013-05-24 }}. Snowleopardconservancy.org. Retrieved 2013-06-03.</ref><ref name=NatGeog>{{cite web | work = National Geographic | year = 2008 | url = http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/snow-leopards/chadwick-text/1 | title = Out of the shadows by Douglas H. Chadwick | access-date = 2010-01-29}}</ref> It is in [[Afghanistan]], [[Bhutan]], [[China]], [[India]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Russia]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Kashmir]], [[Kunlun Mountains|Kunlun]], and the [[Himalaya]] to southern [[Siberia]], [[Mongolia]], and [[Tibet]].<ref name="iucnredlist1"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Geptner, Vladimir G. | display-authors = etal|title=Mammals of the Soviet Union: Carnivora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxWZ-OmTqVoC|date=1992|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-08876-4}}</ref>

Since many estimates are rough and outdated, its numbers could be falsely viewed as low. The total wild population of the snow leopard was estimated in 2008 as 4,510 to 7,350 individuals.<ref name="iucn"/><ref name="iucnredlist1"/>
== Taxonomy and evolution ==
The snow leopard was not thought closely related to the ''[[Panthera]]'' or other living big cats. However, recent molecular studies put the species firmly in the genus ''[[Panthera]]'': its closest relative is the [[tiger]] (''[[Panthera tigris]]'').<ref name="iucnredlist1"/><ref name=Davies2010>{{cite journal |author1=Davis, B. W. |author2=Li, G. |author3=Murphy, W. J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Supermatrix and species tree methods resolve phylogenetic relationships within the big cats, ''Panthera'' (Carnivora: Felidae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=64–76 |pmid=20138224 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.036 }}</ref> [[MSW3]] still refers to the snow leopard as ''Uncia uncia'', but the more recent [[IUCN]] classifies it as '''''Panthera uncia'''''.<ref name="iucnredlist1"/><ref name=Johnson2006>{{cite journal 
|last= Johnson W.E. 
| display-authors = etal
|title=The late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment 
|journal= [[Science (journal)|Science]] 
| year = 2006
|volume= 311
|issue= 5757
|pages= 73–77
|doi= 10.1126/science.1122277
|pmid= 16400146| bibcode = 2006Sci...311...73J
| s2cid = 41672825
| url = https://zenodo.org/record/1230866
}}</ref>
== In popular culture ==
The snow leopard is an official symbol of Kazakhstan.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalsnowleopard.org/blog/who-we-are/range-countries/kazakhstan/ |title=Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program |access-date=2019-10-20 |archive-date=2019-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020045209/http://www.globalsnowleopard.org/blog/who-we-are/range-countries/kazakhstan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Snow Leopard Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Panthera uncia 02 MWNH 355.jpg|Snow leopard [[skull]] in the collection of the [[Museum Wiesbaden]]

File:Two cladograms for Panthera.svg|Two cladograms proposed for ''Panthera''. The upper cladogram is based on two studies published in 2006 and 2009,

File:Snow Leopard Being Cute (16135561540).jpg|Right after he was making grumpy faces, he decided to check out this branch, then turned around and sprayed it.

File:Uncia uncia.jpg|A snow leopard (Uncia uncia).

File:Lightmatter snowleopard.jpg|Snow leopard in the [[San Diego Zoo]]

File:SnowLeopard10000KZT.jpg|Snow leopard on the reverse of the old 10,000-Kazakhstani tenge banknote

File:Coat_of_arms_of_Tatarstan.svg|Emblem of [[Tatarstan]], depicting the Aq Bars, a mythical winged Snow leopard
</gallery>
== References ==
{{wikispecies|Uncia uncia}}
{{commons}}
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q30197}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Felines]]
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:National symbols of Pakistan]]
[[Category:National symbols of Afghanistan]]