JOHN BEATTY / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY JOHN BEATTY / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Snow leopard. View of a young snow leopard (Panthera uncia, or Uncia uncia) standing in snow. Snow leopards are big cats which live in the Himalaya mountains of central Asia. They usually live at altitudes of 3000-4000 metres in the summer, but descend to 2000 metres in the winter. They rarely stray higher than 6000 metres. They feed on large mammals such as the ibex, markhor and wild sheep, as well as smaller prey such as rodents and birds. They hunt by creeping up on their prey then pouncing on it. Snow leopards have been known to jump 15 metres. They are solitary animals, but may hunt in pairs during the breeding season. They may reach 1.5 metres in length.
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