Endangerment of the Snow Leopard

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Snow leopard. When most people hear those words put together, they think of a large, stunning cat with piercing blue eyes, prowling across a snowy terrain high up in the mountains. What they don’t imagine is a helpless animal whose habitat is being destroyed. That is exactly what is happening to these beautiful creatures. Mountain ranges, where these rare cats live, are under the attack of global warming, and the snow leopard population is dwindling because of humans. One of the more well-known snow leopard habitats are the Himalayas. Located in Asia, the Himalayas are becoming warmer each year, which results in a higher treeline. The snow leopards are forced to retreat ever higher into the mountains, where there is less food, vegetation, and, most importantly, oxygen. Even more, humans are attracted to the alluring furs of this beautiful feline. Illegal hunters, or poachers, track down the snow leopards and kill them for their pelts, bones, and body parts. The snow leopard’s fur is a whitish-gray color, tinged with occasional yellow in the spring and dark gray to black splotches, or rosettes (Scherer & Fletcher). The colors of their fur act as camouflage against the mountain snow. Additionally, this cat is one of the smallest of the world’s large cats, averaging about two feet tall from paws to shoulders and about six feet from head to the base of the tail. The tail, however, can add up to three feet to their body length. The snow leopard eats anything from wild sheep to birds to gazelles to red pandas. It is obviously a meat eater, which is called a carnivore. Back to the point, snow leopards are in great danger of becoming extinct if humans continue to hunt them for their pelts and bones and if climate change co...

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"Snow Leopard Conservation -- Why Monitor Snow Leopards (Threats) ?" Snow Leopard Conservation -- Why Monitor Snow Leopards (Threats) ? Web. 01 May 2014. .

"Snow Leopard." - WWF UK. Web. 03 May 2014. .

"Threats and Protections." Threats and Protections. Web. 03 May 2014. .

"Threats to Snow Leopards." Snow Leopard. Web. 01 May 2014. .

Us, Wwf. WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, 16 July 2012. Web. 01 May 2014. .

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