Research Paper On Snow Leopard

Words: 1494
Pages: 6

Snow Leopard: Preventing the Road to Extinction
Snow leopards, also scientifically known as Panthera Uncia, are a species whose population is spread across the continent of Asian. They inhabit 12 different countries and lay home atop the snowy mountains. Some of the countries they call home are Russia, India, China, and Pakistan. They are known to be shy creatures. Where there is human activity, snow leopards tend to not have a presence. On the contrary, if there is no human activity around the area then the more a snow leopard will roam freely. They are difficult to monitor due to their private being (McCarthy, 2008). They are usually up at dawn and dusk, known by scientists as a “crepuscular activity pattern” (snowleopard.org, 2015). These
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Areas like this tend to have less of a human community. Also where they locate should have vegetation and prey for them to feed on (Xu, 2012). Snow leopards are taken care of by their mother up until around a year and a half years old. Before that they stay around their mother who feeds them food. They are also taught how to live on their own by learning important skills such as hunting. Once a snow leopard is taught all of the essential behaviors in order to fend for themselves they become independent and roam the mountain tops on their own (snowleopard.org, 2015). These big cats have a thick white coat of fur covered in black spots throughout which can be beneficial as camouflage in the cold mountains. A snow leopard grows to be about two to five feet in length and can weigh around 99 to 121 pounds. Their total population now is believed to be estimated at around 4,080-6,590. Their status is endangered (worldwilflife.org, 2015). Panthera Unicia, or the snow leopard, play an important part in their ecosystem. Snow leopards may not be able to play that role in the near future due to their fast approach to extinction, but with the help of some …show more content…
One such group attempting to save these mountain cats from dying out is the Snow Leopard Conservancy Group. This is a group of individuals devoted to secure the lives of snow leopards. This group is surveying the motions of this animal to get a better understanding of their daily activities, which in return should help them with their mission. They are teaching locals about snow leopards to help them get better educated on the animal. Also the group is studying where the animal is situated so that they have a better understanding of their exact habitat. With this useful information the group will be able to protect snow leopards by setting geographical boundaries (Jackson and Gabel, 2014). The World Wildlife Fund is also taking action to solve this problem. In regards to poaching, the WWF is on a mission to discontinue the selling of snow leopard fur and bones. In addition, the organization is talking to locals in the area to live in peace with snow leopards. They are trying to come to terms with the locals, such as farmers, to find ways to live in the same radius as snow leopards without having to help eradicate them (worldwildlife.org, 2015). In spite of humans being a large part of the foul play being done to snow leopards, they are also the ones striving to preserve their