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Description
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the smallest of the true big cats. Snow leopards can be found across Central Asia’s mountains, from Afghanistan to southern Siberia to southwestern China. They inhabit alpine and subalpine habitats. The preferred prey of snow leopards are wild sheep and goats, though they hunt a variety of other animals including pikas, langur monkeys, and wild boar. They ambush their victims from above, their fur helping them to blend in with the rocky terrain of their habitat. Though largely solitary, there are reports of snow leopards hunting in pairs. This is a Vulnerable species, with less than 10,000 individuals thought to remain in the wild. The main threats to snow leopards are poaching, human-leopard conflict, habitat loss, and climate change.

Description
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the smallest of the true big cats. Snow leopards can be found across Central Asia’s mountains, from Afghanistan to southern Siberia to southwestern China. They inhabit alpine and subalpine habitats. The preferred prey of snow leopards are wild sheep and goats, though they hunt a variety of other animals including pikas, langur monkeys, and wild boar. They ambush their victims from above, their fur helping them to blend in with the rocky terrain of their habitat. Though largely solitary, there are reports of snow leopards hunting in pairs. This is a Vulnerable species, with less than 10,000 individuals thought to remain in the wild. The main threats to snow leopards are poaching, human-leopard conflict, habitat loss, and climate change.