View source for Snow leopard

{{Short description|Species of large felid}}
{{About|the cat|other uses|Snow Leopard (disambiguation)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = {{Fossilrange|earliest=Middle Pleistocene|Late Pleistocene | Present}}
| 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. |date=2017 |page=e.T22732A50664030 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T22732A50664030.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
 | status2 = CITES_A1 
 | status2_system = CITES 
 | status2_ref = <ref name=iucn/>
| genus = Panthera
| species = uncia
| authority = ([[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreber]], 1775)
| range_map = SnowLeopard distribution.jpg
| range_map_caption = Distribution of the snow leopard, 2017<ref name=iucn />
| synonyms =
* ''Felis uncia'' {{small|[[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreber]], 1777}}
* ''Felis irbis'' {{small|[[Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg|Ehrenberg]], 1830}}
* ''Felis uncioides'' {{small|[[Thomas Horsfield|Horsfield]], 1855}}
* ''Uncia uncia'' {{small|[[Reginald Innes Pocock|Pocock]], 1930}}
* ''Panthera baikalensis-romanii'' {{small|Medvedev, 2000}}
}}

The '''snow leopard''' ('''''Panthera uncia''''') is a [[species]] of large cat in the genus ''[[Panthera]]'' of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Felidae]]. The species is native to the mountain ranges of [[Central Asia|Central]] and [[South Asia]]. It is listed as [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is mainly threatened by [[poaching]] and [[habitat destruction]] following infrastructural developments. It inhabits [[Alpine climate|alpine]] and [[subalpine zone]]s at elevations of {{cvt|3000|-|4500|m}}, ranging from eastern [[Afghanistan]], the [[Himalayas]] and the [[Tibetan Plateau]] to southern [[Siberia]], [[Mongolia]] and [[western China]]. In the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations.

[[Taxonomy (biology)|Taxonomically]], the snow leopard was long classified in the [[monotypic genus]] ''Uncia''. Since [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic]] studies revealed the relationships among ''Panthera'' species, it has since been considered a member of that [[Genus (biology)|genus]]. Two subspecies were described based on [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] differences, but [[Genetics|genetic]] differences between the two have not yet been confirmed. It is therefore regarded as a [[monotypic species]]. The species is widely depicted in [[Culture of Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyz culture]].

== Naming and etymology ==
[[File:Ounce1.jpg|thumb|Illustration of an 'Ounce' (1658)]]
The [[Old French]] word ''once'', which was intended to be used for the [[Eurasian lynx]] (''Lynx lynx''), is where the [[Latin]] name ''uncia'' and the English word ounce both originate. ''Once'' is believed to have originated from a previous form of the word ''lynx'' through a process known as [[Rebracketing|false splitting]]. The word ''once'' was originally considered to be pronounced as ''l'once'', where ''l''' stands for the [[Elision|elided form]] of the word ''la'' ('the') in French. ''Once'' was then understood to be the name of the animal.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Allen, E. A. |title=English Doublets |year=1908 |url=https://archive.org/stream/publications23modeuoft#page/214/mode/1up |volume=23 |series=New Series 16 |issue=1 |journal=Publications of the Modern Language Association of America |pages=184–239 |doi=10.2307/456687 |jstor=456687|s2cid=251028590 }}</ref>
The word ''panther'' derives from the [[classical Latin]] ''panthēra'', itself from the [[ancient Greek]] πάνθηρ ''pánthēr'', which was used for spotted cats.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Liddell, H. G. |author1-link=Henry Liddell |author2=Scott, R. |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |name-list-style=amp |year=1940 |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |edition=Revised and augmented |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |chapter=πάνθηρ |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2377441 |access-date=2021-02-21 |archive-date=2008-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411203109/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2377441 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
[[File:Panthera uncia 02 MWNH 355.jpg|thumb|Snow leopard [[skull]] in the collection of the [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
''Felis uncia'' was the [[scientific name]] used by [[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber]] in 1777 who [[Scientific description|described]] a snow leopard based on an earlier description by [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]], assuming that the cat occurred along the [[Barbary Coast]], in [[Persia]], [[East India]] and [[China]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |date=2016-06-06 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-802496-6 |language=en |access-date=2019-05-24 |archive-date=2023-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108185431/https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Genus (biology)|genus]] name ''Uncia'' was proposed by [[John Edward Gray]] in 1854 for Asian cats with a long and thick tail.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=J. E. |title=The ounces |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |date=1854 |volume=14 |series=2 |page=394 |url=https://archive.org/stream/annalsmagazineof34lond#page/394/mode/1up}}</ref> ''Felis irbis,'' proposed by [[Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg]] in 1830, was a skin of a female snow leopard collected in the [[Altai Mountains]]. He also clarified that several [[leopard]] (''P. pardus'') skins were previously misidentified as snow leopard skins.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ehrenberg |first1=C. G. |year=1830 |title=Observations et données nouvelles sur le tigre du nord et la panthère du nord, recueillies dans le voyage de Sibérie fait par M.A. de Humboldt, en l'année 1829 |journal=Annales des sciences naturelles, Zoologie |volume=21 |pages=387–412 |url=https://archive.org/details/annalesdesscienc211830audo/page/394}}</ref> ''Felis uncioides'' proposed by [[Thomas Horsfield]] in 1855 was a snow leopard skin from Nepal in the collection of the Museum of the [[East India Company]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Horsfield |first1=T. |year=1855 |title=Brief notices of several new or little-known species of Mammalia, lately discovered and collected in Nepal, by Brian Houghton Hodgson |journal=The Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology |volume=16 |series=2 |issue=92 |pages=101–114 |doi=10.1080/037454809495489 |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsmagazineof36lond/page/105}}</ref>

''Uncia uncia'' was used by [[Reginald Innes Pocock]] in 1930 when he reviewed skins and skulls of ''Panthera'' species from Asia. He also described morphological differences between snow leopard and leopard skins.<ref name=Pocock1930>{{cite journal |last1=Pocock |first1=R. I. |year=1930 |title=The panthers and ounces of Asia. Part II. The panthers of Kashmir, India, and Ceylon |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofbomb34121930bomb/page/n475 |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=307–336}}</ref>
''Panthera baikalensis-romanii'' proposed by a Russian scientist in 2000 was a dark brown snow leopard skin from the [[Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky District]] in southern [[Transbaikal]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Medvedev |first1=D. G. |year=2000 |title=Morfologicheskie otlichiya irbisa iz Yuzhnogo Zabaikalia |trans-title=Morphological differences of the snow leopard from Southern Transbaikalia |journal=Vestnik Irkutskoi Gosudarstvennoi Sel'skokhozyaistvennoi Akademyi [Proceedings of Irkutsk State Agricultural Academy] |volume=20 |pages=20–30}}</ref>

The snow leopard was long classified in the [[monotypic genus]] ''Uncia''.<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |page=548|id=14000269| heading=Species ''Uncia uncia''}}</ref>
They were subordinated to the genus ''Panthera'' based on results of [[phylogenetic]] studies.<ref name="johnson2006"/><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 |bibcode=2010MolPE..56...64D |url=http://www.academia.edu/download/46328641/Supermatrix_and_species_tree_methods_res20160607-12326-st2bcr.pdf}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name=Kitchener2016>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Driscoll, C. A. |author3=Yamaguchi, N. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=What is a Snow Leopard? Taxonomy, Morphology, and Phylogeny |pages=3–11 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100447/https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=catsg>{{cite journal |author1=Kitchener, A. C. |author2=Breitenmoser-Würsten, C. |author3=Eizirik, E. |author4=Gentry, A. |author5=Werdelin, L. |author6=Wilting, A. |author7=Yamaguchi, N. |author8=Abramov, A. V. |author9=Christiansen, P. |author10=Driscoll, C. |author11=Duckworth, J. W. |author12=Johnson, W. |author13=Luo, S.-J. |author14=Meijaard, E. |author15=O’Donoghue, P. |author16=Sanderson, J. |author17=Seymour, K. |author18=Bruford, M. |author19=Groves, C. |author20=Hoffmann, M. |author21=Nowell, K. |author22=Timmons, Z. |author23=Tobe, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=A revised taxonomy of the Felidae: The final report of the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 11 |page=69 |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=2018-05-13 |archive-date=2020-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117172708/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/32616/A_revised_Felidae_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live}}</ref>

Until spring 2017, there was no evidence available for the recognition of [[subspecies]]. Results of a [[phylogeography|phylogeographic]] analysis indicate that three subspecies should be recognised:<ref name=Janecka2017>{{cite journal |author1=Janecka, J. E. |author2=Zhang, Y. |author3=Li, D. |author4=Munkhtsog, B. |author5=Bayaraa, M. |author6=Galsandorj, N. |author7=Wangchuk, T. R. |author8=Karmacharya, D. |author9=Li, J. |author10=Lu, Z. |author11=Uulu, K. Z. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |journal=Journal of Heredity |title=Range-Wide Snow Leopard Phylogeography Supports Three Subspecies |volume=108 |issue=6 |pages=597–607 |doi=10.1093/jhered/esx044 |pmid=28498961 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 
*''P. u. uncia'' in the range countries of the [[Pamir Mountains]]
*''P. u. irbis'' in Mongolia, and 
*''P. u. uncioides'' in the Himalayas and [[Qinghai]].
This view has been both contested and supported by different researchers.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Senn, H. |author2=Murray-Dickson, G. |author3=Kitchener, A. C. |author4=Riordan, P. |author5=Mallon, D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Response to Janecka et al. 2017 |year=2018 |journal=Heredity |volume=120 |issue=6 |pages=581–585 |doi=10.1038/s41437-017-0015-4 |pmid=29225352 |pmc=5943311|bibcode=2018Hered.120..581S }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Janecka, J. E. |author2=Janecka, M. J. |author3=Helgen, K. M. |author4=Murphy, W. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=The validity of three snow leopard subspecies: response to Senn et al. |year=2018 |journal=Heredity |volume=120 |issue=6 |pages=586–590|doi=10.1038/s41437-018-0052-7 |pmid=29434338 |pmc=5943360|bibcode=2018Hered.120..586J }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author1=Janecka, J. E. |author2=Hacker, C. |author3=Broderick, J. |author4=Pulugulla, S. |author5=Auron, P. |author6=Ringling, M. |author7=Nelson, B. |author8=Munkhtsog, B. |author9=Hussain, S. |author10=Davis, B. |author11=Jackson, R. |chapter=Noninvasive Genetics and Genomics Shed Light on the Status, Phylogeography, and Evolution of the Elusive Snow Leopard |name-list-style=amp |editor=Ortega, J. |editor2=Maldonado, J. E. |publisher=Springer International Publishing |location=Basel |isbn=978-3-030-33334-8 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-33334-8_5 |year=2020 |title=Conservation Genetics in Mammals. Integrative Research Using Novel Approaches |pages=83–120 |s2cid=213437425 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-33334-8_5 |access-date=2021-04-22 |archive-date=2022-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009101619/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-33334-8_5 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Korablev, M. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Poyarkov, A. D. |author3=Karnaukhov, A. S. |author4=Zvychaynaya, E. Y. |author5=Kuksin, A. N. |author6=Malykh, S. V. |author7=Istomov, S. V. |author8=Spitsyn, S. V. |author9=Aleksandrov, D. Y. |author10=Hernandez-Blanco, J. A. |author11=Munkhtsog, B. |title=Large‑scale and fine‑grain population structure and genetic diversity of snow leopards (''Panthera uncia'' Schreber, 1776) from the northern and western parts of the range with an emphasis on the Russian population |year=2021 |journal=Conservation Genetics |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=397–410 |doi=10.1007/s10592-021-01347-0 |s2cid=233480791 |url=https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Korablev_et_al_2021.pdf |access-date=2021-04-22 |archive-date=2021-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519033452/https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Korablev_et_al_2021.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Two possible European paleosubspecies have been named in the 2020s, ''[[Panthera uncia pyrenaica]]'' from France and ''Panthera uncia lusitana'' from Portugal, but the subspecific validity of the former is uncertain.<ref name=lusitana/>

== Evolution ==
[[File:Two cladograms for Panthera.svg|thumb|upright=0.95|Two cladograms proposed for ''Panthera''. The upper cladogram is based on two studies published in 2006 and 2009,<ref name="johnson2006"/><ref name="werdelin2009"/> the lower one is based on studies published in 2010 and 2011.<ref name=Davies2010/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mazák|first1=J.H.|last2=Christiansen |first2=P. |last3=Kitchener |first3=A.C. |last4=Goswami |first4=A. |name-list-style=amp |title=Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2011 |volume=6 |issue=10 |pages=e25483 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0025483 |pmid=22016768 |pmc=3189913 |bibcode=2011PLoSO...625483M|doi-access=free}}</ref>]]

Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the [[DNA sequence]] sampled across the living [[Felidae]], the snow leopard forms a [[sister group]] with the [[tiger]] (''P. tigris''). The [[genetic divergence]] time of this group is estimated at {{mya|4.62|1.82}}.<ref name=johnson2006>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=W. E. |last2=Eizirik |first2=E. |last3=Pecon-Slattery |first3=J. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. |last5=Antunes |first5=A. |last6=Teeling |first6=E. |last7=O'Brien |first7=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=The late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment |journal=Science |year=2006 |volume=311 |issue=5757 |pages=73–77 |pmid=16400146 |doi=10.1126/science.1122277 |bibcode=2006Sci...311...73J |s2cid=41672825 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |access-date=2018-10-21 |archive-date=2020-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004075725/https://zenodo.org/record/1230866 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="werdelin2009">{{cite book |year=2010 |editor1=Macdonald, D. W. |editor2=Loveridge, A. J. |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |last1=Werdelin |first1=L. |last2=Yamaguchi |first2=N. |last3=Johnson |first3=W. E. |last4=O'Brien |first4=S. J. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae) |pages=59–82 |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |access-date=21 October 2018 |archive-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925141956/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266755142 |url-status=live}}</ref> The snow leopard and the tiger probably diverged between {{mya|3.7|2.7}}.<ref name="Davies2010" /> ''Panthera'' originates most likely in northern Central Asia. ''[[Panthera blytheae]]'' [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavated]] in western Tibet's [[Ngari Prefecture]] has been initially described the oldest known ''Panthera'' species and exhibits skull characteristics similar to the snow leopard,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Tseng, Z. J. |author2=Wang, X. |author3=Slater, G. J. |author4=Takeuchi, G. T. |author5=Li, Q. |author6=Liu, J. |author7=Xie, G. |name-list-style=amp |date=2014 |title=Himalayan fossils of the oldest known pantherine establish ancient origin of big cats |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=281 |issue=1774 |page=20132686 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.2686 |pmid=24225466 |pmc=3843846}}</ref> though its taxonomic placement has been disputed by other researchers who suggest that the species likely belongs to a different genus.<ref name=Peigne2017>{{cite journal |author1=Geraads, D. |author2=Peigné, S |title=Re-appraisal of ''Felis pamiri'' Ozansoy 1959 (Carnivora, Felidae) from the upper Miocene of Turkey: the earliest pantherine cat? |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=415–425 |year=2017 |url=https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01675275/document |doi=10.1007/s10914-016-9349-6|s2cid=207195894 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref><ref name=Hemmer2023>{{cite journal|last1=Hemmer|first1=H. |date=2023 |title=The evolution of the palaeopantherine cats, ''Palaeopanthera'' gen. nov. ''blytheae'' (Tseng et al., 2014) and ''Palaeopanthera pamiri'' (Ozansoy, 1959) comb. nov. (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) |journal=Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=827–839 |doi=10.1007/s12549-023-00571-5 |bibcode=2023PdPe..103..827H |s2cid=257842190}}</ref> The [[mitochondrial genome]]s of the snow leopard, the leopard and the [[lion]] (''P. leo'') are more similar to each other than their [[nuclear genome]]s, indicating that their ancestors [[Hybridization (biology)|hybridised]] at some point in their [[evolution]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=G. |last2=Davis |first2=B. W. |last3=Eizirik |first3=E. |last4=Murphy |first4=W. J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Phylogenomic evidence for ancient hybridization in the genomes of living cats (Felidae) |journal=Genome Research |date=2016 |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1101/gr.186668.114 |pmid=26518481 |pmc=4691742}}</ref>

The earliest known definitive record of the modern snow leopard is dated to the Late Pleistocene based on a specimen discovered from the Niuyan Cave of China. A [[Middle Pleistocene]] specimen from the [[Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site]] which is similar to the modern snow leopard has been referred to as ''P.'' aff. ''uncia''.<ref name=lusitana>{{Cite journal|last1=Jiangzuo |first1=Q. |last2=Madurell-Malapeira |first2=J. |last3=Li |first3=X. |last4=Estraviz-López |first4=D. |last5=Mateus |first5=O. |last6=Testu |first6=A. |last7=Li |first7=S. |last8=Wang |first8=S. |last9=Deng |first9=T. |title=Insights on the evolution and adaptation toward high-altitude and cold environments in the snow leopard lineage |year=2025 |journal=Science Advances |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=eadp5243 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.adp5243 |pmid=39813339 |pmc=11734717 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2025SciA...11P5243J }}</ref> Putative fossils of the snow leopard found in the Pabbi Hills of Pakistan were dated to the [[Early Pleistocene]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dennell |first1=R. W. |last2=Coard |first2=R. |last3=Turner |first3=A. |date=2008 |title=Predators and scavengers in Early Pleistocene southern Asia |journal=[[Quaternary International]] |volume=192 |issue=1 |pages=78–88 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2007.06.023 |bibcode=2008QuInt.192...78D |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> but the fossils might instead represent a [[leopard]] or belong to the genus ''[[Puma (genus)|Puma]]''.<ref name="Hemmer"/>

It has also been suggested that the snow leopard had European [[paleosubspecies]] during the Pleistocene epoch. ''[[Panthera uncia pyrenaica]]'' was described in 2022 based on [[fossil]] material found in France that was dated to the early [[Middle Pleistocene]] around {{Ma|0.57|0.53}}.<ref name="Hemmer">{{Cite journal|last=Hemmer |first=H. |title=An intriguing find of an early Middle Pleistocene European snow leopard, ''Panthera uncia pyrenaica'' ssp. nov. (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae), from the Arago cave (Tautavel, Pyrénées-Orientales, France) |journal=Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments |year=2023 |volume=103 |issue=1 |pages=207–220 |doi=10.1007/s12549-021-00514-y |bibcode=2023PdPe..103..207H |s2cid=246433218 |doi-access=free}}</ref> ''Panthera uncia lusitana'' was described in 2025 based on fossil material discovered from Late Pleistocene strata in Portugal, and the describers of ''P. u. lusitana'' assigned ''P. u. pyrenaica'' outside the modern snow leopard as ''P. pyrenaica'' due to the lack of similar traits, though it might represent a basal related species.<ref name=lusitana/> In the same year, Prat-Vericat and colleagues proposed that both ''P. u. pyrenaica'' and the Portuguese fossils indicate either the migration of snow leopards into Europe due to the [[Mid-Pleistocene Transition]] (the so-called "0.9 Ma Event"), or the convergent evolution of European leopards to adapt into rocky habitats that caused their resemblance to the modern snow leopard.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Prat-Vericat |first1=M. |last2=Marciszak |first2=A. |last3=Bartolini-Lucenti |first3=S. |last4=Fidalgo |first4=D. |last5=Rufí |first5=I. |last6=Tura-Poch |first6=C. |last7=Vizcaíno-Varo |first7=V. |last8=Jovells-Vaqué |first8=S. |last9=Ramada |first9=N. |last10=Díez-Canseco |first10=C. |last11=Gelabert |first11=P. |last12=Tornero |first12=C. |last13=Terradas |first13=X. |last14=Rook |first14=L. |last15=Madurell-Malapeira |first15=J. |year=2025 |title=A review on Pyrenean Pleistocene leopards paleoecology, paleobiogeography and adaptative convergences with snow leopards |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=358 |at=109327 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109327 |bibcode=2025QSRv..35809327P |hdl=2158/1419593 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== Characteristics ==
{{multiple image | align= right | direction= vertical | image1= Panthera uncia (33172899150).jpg | caption1= Showing canines | image2= Léopard des neiges 14081.jpg | caption2= Thickly furred tail}}
The snow leopard's fur is whitish to grey with black spots on the head and neck, with larger [[Rosette (zoology)|rosette]]s on the back, [[Flank (anatomy)|flank]]s and bushy tail. Its [[Muzzle (anatomy)|muzzle]] is short, its forehead domed, and its [[nasal cavity|nasal cavities]] are large. The fur is thick with hairs measuring {{cvt|5|to|12|cm|in}} in length, and its underbelly is whitish. They are stocky, short-legged, and slightly smaller than other cats of the genus ''Panthera'', reaching a shoulder height of {{cvt|56|cm|in}}, and ranging in head to body size from {{cvt|75|to|150|cm}}. Its tail is {{cvt|80|to|105|cm}} long.<ref name=Hemmer1972>{{cite journal |author=Hemmer, H. |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-020-01-0001.pdf |journal=Mammalian Species |title=''Uncia uncia'' |pages=1–5 |year=1972 |doi=10.2307/3503882 |issue=20 |jstor=3503882 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401104725/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-020-01-0001.pdf}}</ref> Males average {{Cvt|45|to|55|kg}}, and females {{Cvt|35|to|40|kg}}.<ref name=Nowell&Jackson1996/> Occasionally, large males reaching {{cvt|75|kg}} have been recorded, and small females under {{cvt|25|kg}}.<ref name=WCoW>{{cite book |author=Sunquist, M. |author2=Sunquist, F. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |title=Wild Cats of the World |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-77999-7 |chapter=Snow leopard ''Uncia uncia'' (Schreber, 1775) |pages=377–394 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378 |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100446/https://books.google.com/books?id=IF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA378 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Its [[canine teeth]] are {{cvt|28.6|mm|in}} long and are more slender than those of the other ''Panthera'' species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Christiansen |first1=P. |year=2007 |title=Canine morphology in the larger Felidae: implications for feeding ecology |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=91 |issue=4 |pages=573–592 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00819.x |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The snow leopard shows several adaptations for living in cold, mountainous environments. Its small rounded ears help to minimize heat loss, and its broad paws effectively distribute the body weight for walking on snow. Fur on the undersides of the paws enhances its grip on steep and unstable surfaces, and helps to minimize heat loss. Its long and flexible tail helps the cat to balance in rocky terrain. The tail is very thick due to fat storage, and is covered in a thick layer of fur, which allows the cat to use it like a blanket to protect its face when asleep.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gish |first=M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zv_ZjgEACAAJ |title=Snow Leopards |date=2016 |isbn=978-1-56660-746-9 |access-date=2023-05-20 |archive-date=2023-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108185432/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zv_ZjgEACAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The snow leopard differs from the other ''Panthera'' species by a shorter muzzle, an elevated [[forehead]], a vertical chin and a less developed posterior process of the lower [[jaw]].<ref name=Pocock1930/> Despite its partly [[ossification|ossified]] [[hyoid bone]], a snow leopard cannot [[roar]], as its {{cvt|9|mm}} short [[vocal fold]]s provide little resistance to airflow.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hast |first1=M. H. |year=1989 |title=The larynx of roaring and non-roaring cats |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=163 |pages=117–121 |pmc=1256521 |pmid=2606766}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weissengruber |first1=G. E. |first2=G. |last2=Forstenpointner |first3=G. |last3=Peters |first4=A. |last4=Kübber-Heiss |first5=W. T. |last5=Fitch |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 |pages=195–209 |date=2002 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x |pmc=1570911 |volume=201 |issue=3 |pmid=12363272}}</ref>
Its nasal openings are large in relation to the length of its [[skull]] and width of its [[palate]]; thanks to their size the volume of air inhaled with each breath is optimised, and the cold dry air becomes warmer.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Torregrosa, V. |author2=Petrucci, M. |author3=Pérez-Claros, J. A. |author4=Palmqvist, P. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Nasal aperture area and body mass in felids: Ecophysiological implications and paleobiological inferences |journal=Geobios |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=653–661 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2010.05.001|bibcode=2010Geobi..43..653T}}</ref> It is not especially adapted to [[high-altitude hypoxia]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Janecka, J.E. |author2=Nielsen, S.S. |author3=Andersen, S.D. |author4=Hoffmann, F.G. |author5=Weber, R.E. |author6=Anderson, T. |author7=Storz, J.F. |name-list-style=amp |author8=Fago, A. |title=Genetically based low oxygen affinities of felid hemoglobins: lack of biochemical adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia in the snow leopard |date=2015 |journal=Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=218 |issue=15 |pages=2402–2409 |doi=10.1242/jeb.125369 |pmid=26246610 |pmc=4528707 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2015JExpB.218.2402J }}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat ==
The snow leopard is distributed from the west of [[Lake Baikal]] through southern Siberia, in the [[Kunlun Mountains]], Altai Mountains, [[Sayan Mountains|Sayan]] and [[Tannu-Ola Mountains]], in the [[Tian Shan]], through [[Tajikistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Kazakhstan]] to the [[Hindu Kush]] in eastern Afghanistan, [[Karakoram]] in northern [[Pakistan]], in the [[Pamir Mountains]], the Tibetan Plateau and in the high elevations of the [[Himalaya]]s in [[India]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]]. In Mongolia, they inhabit the Mongolian and Gobi Altai Mountains and the [[Khangai Mountains]]. In [[Tibet]], it occurs up to the [[Altyn-Tagh]] in the north.<ref name=McCarthy2003>{{cite book |author1=McCarthy, T. M. |author2=Chapron, G. |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |publisher=International Snow Leopard Trust and Snow Leopard Network |location=Seattle, USA |title=Snow Leopard Survival Strategy |url=http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/docs/slss_full.pdf |access-date=2017-10-23 |archive-date=2019-07-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711112322/http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/docs/slss_full.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In northeastern Afghanistan's isolated [[Wakhan Corridor]], it was recorded by [[camera trap]]s at 16 locations.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Simms, A. |author2=Moheb, Z. |author3=Salahudin |author4=Ali, H. |author5=Ali, I. |author6=Wood, T. |year=2011 |title=Saving threatened species in Afghanistan: snow leopards in the Wakhan Corridor |journal=International Journal of Environmental Studies |volume=68 |issue=3 |pages=299–312 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233093578|doi=10.1080/00207233.2011.577147 |bibcode=2011IJEnS..68..299S |s2cid=96170915}}</ref>

The snow leopard inhabits [[Alpine climate|alpine]] and [[subalpine zone]]s at elevations of {{cvt|3000|to|4500|m}}, but also lives at lower elevations in the northern part of its range.<ref name=Janecka2008>{{cite journal |author1=Janečka, J. E. |author2=Jackson. R. |author3=Yuquang, Z.|author4=Diqiang, L. |author5=Munkhtsog, B.|author6=Buckley-Beason, V. |author7=Murphy, W. J. |title=Population monitoring of snow leopards using noninvasive collection of scat samples: a pilot study |journal=Animal Conservation |volume=11 |issue=5 |year=2008 |pages=401–411 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-1795.2008.00195.x |bibcode=2008AnCon..11..401J |s2cid=20787622}}</ref>
In summer, it usually lives above the [[tree line]] on [[alpine meadow]]s and in rocky regions at elevations of {{cvt|2700|to|6000|m}}. In winter, it descends to elevations around {{cvt|1200|to|2000|m}}. It prefers rocky, broken terrain, and can move in {{cvt|85|cm}} deep snow, but prefers to use existing trails made by other animals.<ref name=WCoW />

Potential snow leopard habitat in the Indian Himalayas is estimated at less than {{cvt|90000|km2}} in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Ladakh]], [[Uttarakhand]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Sikkim]] and [[Arunachal Pradesh]], of which about {{cvt|34000|km2}} is considered good habitat, and 14.4% is protected. In the beginning of the 1990s, the Indian snow leopard population was estimated at 200–600 individuals living across about 25 protected areas.<ref name=McCarthy2003/>
In 2024, the Indian snow leopard population was estimated at 718 individuals, with 124 in [[Uttarakhand]], 51 in Himachal Pradesh, 36 in Arunachal Pradesh, 21 in Sikkim, nine in Jammu and Kashmir, <ref>{{Cite news |title=Snow leopard census: Ladakh leads the pack with 477, J&K records minimum at 9 of total 718 |author=Oberoi, S. S. |date=2024 |url=https://m.greaterkashmir.com/article/indias-snow-leopard-census-ladakh-leads-the-pack-with-477-jk-records-minimum-at-9-of-total-718/274709 |access-date=2024-02-01 |work=Greater Kashmir |archive-date=2024-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201174837/https://m.greaterkashmir.com/article/indias-snow-leopard-census-ladakh-leads-the-pack-with-477-jk-records-minimum-at-9-of-total-718/274709 |url-status=live}}</ref> and 477 in [[Ladakh]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Raina |first1=P. |last2=Mungi |first2=N. A. |last3=Kumar |first3=U.|last4=Rathi |first4=A. D. |last5=Khan |first5=N. H. |last6=Patel |first6=D. A. |last7=Bhasin |first7=A. |last8=Bisht |first8=S. |last9=Hiby |first9=L. |last10=Pandav |first10=B. |last11=Sultan |first11=M. S. |last12=Takpa |first12=J. J. |last13=Jhala |first13=Y. V. |date=2025 |title=Comprehensive assessment of snow leopard distribution and population in the Indian Trans-Himalaya, Ladakh: Standardizing methods for evidence-based conservation |journal=PLoS One |volume=20 |issue=5 |page=e0322136 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0322136 |doi-access=free |pmc=12057866 |pmid=40333686}}</ref>

==Behavior and ecology==
[[File:Snow Leopard Being Cute (16135561540).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Scent rubbing]]]]
[[File:Uncia uncia.jpg|thumb|upright|Walking on snow]]
The snow leopard's vocalizations include meowing, grunting, [[prusten]] and moaning. They can purr when exhaling.<ref name=Hemmer1972/>

It is [[solitary animal|solitary]] and mostly active at dawn till early morning, and again in afternoons and early evenings. They mostly rest near cliffs and ridges that provide vantage points and shade. In Nepal's [[Shey Phoksundo National Park]], the home ranges of five adult [[Radio telemetry|radio-collared]] snow leopards largely overlapped, though they rarely met. Their individual home ranges ranged from {{cvt|12|to|39|km2}}. Males moved between {{cvt|0.5|and|5.45|km}} per day, and females between {{cvt|0.2|and|2.25|km}}, measured in straight lines between survey points. Since they often zigzagged in the precipitous terrain, they actually moved up to {{cvt|7|km}} in a single night.<ref name=JacksonAhlborn1988>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=R. |last2=Ahlborn |first2=G. |name-list-style=amp |year=1988 |title=Proceedings of the Fifth International Snow Leopard Symposium |editor1-last=Freeman |editor1-first=H. |publisher=International Snow Leopard Trust |location=India |chapter=Observations on the ecology of snow leopard in west Nepal |pages=65–97 |chapter-url=http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Jackson_Ahlborn_1988.pdf |access-date=2019-04-09 |archive-date=2019-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712163136/http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Jackson_Ahlborn_1988.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Up to 10 individuals inhabit an area of {{cvt|100|km2}}; in habitats with sparse prey, an area of {{cvt|1000|km2}} usually supports only five individuals.<ref name=Jackson1996>{{cite thesis |last=Jackson |first=R. |title=Home Range, Movements and Habitat Use of Snow Leopard in Nepal |type=PhD |publisher=University of London |year=1996 |location=London |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242563248}}</ref>

A study in the [[Gobi Desert]] from 2008 to 2014 revealed that adult males used a mean home range of {{cvt|144|-|270|km2}}, while adult females ranged in areas of {{cvt|83|-|165|km2}}. Their home ranges overlapped less than 20%. These results indicate that about 40% of the 170 protected areas in their range countries are smaller than the home range of a single male snow leopard.<ref name=Johansson2016>{{cite journal |author1=Johansson, Ö. |author2=Rauset, G. R. |author3=Samelius, G. |author4=McCarthy, T. |author5=Andrén, H. |author6=Tumursukh, L. |author7=Mishra, C. |name-list-style=amp |title=Land sharing is essential for snow leopard conservation |date=2016 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=203 |issue=203 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2016.08.034 |bibcode=2016BCons.203....1J |url=http://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Johansson_et_al_2016.pdf |access-date=2019-05-24 |archive-date=2021-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519031602/https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Johansson_et_al_2016.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Snow leopards leave [[scent mark]]s to indicate their territories and common travel routes. They scrape the ground with the hind feet before depositing [[urine]] or [[feces]], but also [[spraying (animal behavior)|spray]] urine onto rocks.<ref name=WCoW /> Their urine contains many characteristic low molecular weight compounds with diverse functional groups including [[pentanol]], [[hexanol]], [[heptanol]], [[3-octanone]], [[nonanal]] and [[indole]], which possibly play a role in chemical communication.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Das, S. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Manna, S. |author3=Ray, S.  |author4=Das, P. |author5=Rai, U. |author6=Ghosh, B. |author7=Sarkar, M. P. |title=Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 14 |chapter=Do Urinary Volatiles Carry Communicative Messages in Himalayan Snow Leopards &#91;Panthera uncia, (Schreber, 1775)&#93;? |year=2019 |publisher=Springer |place=Cham |volume=14 |pages=27–37 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-17616-7_3 |isbn=978-3-030-17615-0 |s2cid=200084900 |editor=Buesching, C.}}</ref>

===Hunting and diet===
{{multiple image | align= right | direction= vertical | image1= Wild Snow Leopard Goes Grocery Shopping.png | caption1= Snow leopard with a [[gray marmot]] in Kyrgyzstan}}

The snow leopard is a [[carnivore]] and actively [[Hunting|hunts]] its [[prey]]. Its preferred wild prey species are [[Himalayan blue sheep]] (''Pseudois nayaur''), [[Himalayan tahr]] (''Hemitragus jemlahicus''), [[argali]] (''Ovis ammon''), [[markhor]] (''Capra falconeri'') and [[wild goat]] (''C. aegagrus''). It also preys on domestic livestock.<ref name=Johansson>{{cite journal |last1=Johansson |first1=Ö. |last2=McCarthy |first2=T. |last3=Samelius, G. |last4=Andrén, H. |last5=Tumursukh, L. |last6=Mishra, C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2015 |title=Snow leopard predation in a livestock dominated landscape in Mongolia |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=184 |pages=251–258 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2015.02.003 |bibcode=2015BCons.184..251J |url=http://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Johansson_et_al_2015.pdf |access-date=2015-03-25 |archive-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128162142/http://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Johansson_et_al_2015.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Namgail, T. |last2=Fox, J.L. |last3=Bhatnagar, Y.V. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=Carnivore-caused livestock mortality in Trans-Himalaya |journal=Environmental Management |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=490–496 |doi=10.1007/s00267-005-0178-2 |pmid=17318699 |bibcode=2007EnMan..39..490N |s2cid=30967502 |url=http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29268318.pdf |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-date=2023-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108185441/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/29268318.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> It prefers prey ranging in weight from {{cvt|36|to|76|kg}}, but also hunts smaller mammals such as [[Himalayan marmot]] (''Marmota himalayana''), [[pika]] and [[vole]] species. Its diet depends on prey availability and varies across its range and season. In the Himalayas, it preys mostly on Himalayan blue sheep, [[Siberian ibex]] (''C. sibirica''), [[white-bellied musk deer]] (''Moschus leucogaster'') and [[wild boar]] (''Sus scrofa''). In the [[Karakoram]], [[Tian Shan]], Altai and Mongolia's Tost Mountains, its main prey consists of Siberian ibex, [[Thorold's deer]] (''Cervus albirostris''), [[Siberian roe deer]] (''Capreolus pygargus'') and argali.<ref name=Lyngdoh2014>{{cite journal |title=Prey preferences of the snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''): regional diet specificity holds global significance for conservation |last1=Lyngdoh, S. |last2=Shrotriya, S. |last3=Goyal, S. P. |last4=Clements, H. |last5=Hayward, M. W. |last6=Habib, B. |name-list-style=amp |year=2014 |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=e88349 |pmid=24533080 |pmc=3922817 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0088349 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...988349L |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=Shehzad2012>{{cite journal |title=Prey Preference of Snow Leopard (''Panthera uncia'') in South Gobi, Mongolia |year=2012 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0032104 |last1=Shehzad, W. |last2=McCarthy, T. M. |last3=Pompanon, F. |last4=Purevjav, L. |last5=Coissac, E. |last6=Riaz, T. |last7=Taberlet, P. |name-list-style=amp |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=7 |issue=2 |page=e32104 |pmid=22393381 |pmc=3290533 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...732104S|doi-access=free}}</ref> Snow leopard feces collected in northern Pakistan also contained remains of [[rhesus macaque]] (''Macaca mulatta''), [[masked palm civet]] (''Paguma larvata''), [[Cape hare]] (''Lepus capensis''), [[house mouse]] (''Mus musculus''), [[Kashmir field mouse]] (''Apodemus rusiges''), [[grey dwarf hamster]] (''Cricetulus migratorius'') and [[Turkestan rat]] (''Rattus pyctoris'').<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Khatoon, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Hussain, I. |author3=Anwar, M. |author4=Nawaz, M. A. |year=2017 |title=Diet selection of snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') in Chitral, Pakistan |journal=Turkish Journal of Zoology |volume=41 |issue=41 |pages=914–923 |doi=10.3906/zoo-1604-58|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2017, a snow leopard was photographed carrying a freshly killed [[woolly flying squirrel]] (''Eupetaurus cinereus'') near [[Gangotri National Park]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Pal, R. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Bhattacharya, T. |author3=Sathyakumar, S. |year=2020 |title=Woolly flying squirrel ''Eupetaurus cinereus'': A new addition to the diet of snow leopard ''Panthera uncia'' |journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=117 |issue= |pages= |doi=10.17087/jbnhs/2020/v117/142056 |s2cid=266289402 |url=https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Pal_et_al_2020_JBNHS_Note.pdf |access-date=2 August 2021 |archive-date=21 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921115030/https://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Pal_et_al_2020_JBNHS_Note.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Mongolia, [[domestic sheep]] comprises less than 20% of its diet, although wild prey has been reduced and interactions with people are common.<ref name=Shehzad2012 /> It is capable of killing most ungulates in its habitat, with the probable exception of the adult male [[wild yak]]. It also eats grass and twigs.<ref name=WCoW />

The snow leopard actively pursues prey down steep mountainsides, using the momentum of its initial leap to chase animals for up to {{cvt|300|m}}. Then it drags the prey to a safe location and consumes all edible parts of the carcass. It can survive on a single Himalayan blue sheep for two weeks before hunting again, and one adult individual apparently needs 20–30 adult blue sheep per year.<ref name=iucn/><ref name=WCoW/> Snow leopards have been recorded to hunt successfully in pairs, especially mating pairs.<ref name=hunt>{{cite journal |author1=Macri, A. M. |author2=Patterson-Kane, E. |title=Behavioural analysis of solitary versus socially housed snow leopards (''Panthera uncia''), with the provision of simulated social contact |name-list-style=amp |year=2011 |journal=Applied Animal Behaviour Science |pages=115–123 |volume=130 |issue=3–4 |doi=10.1016/j.applanim.2010.12.005}}</ref>

The snow leopard is easily driven away from livestock and readily abandons kills, often without defending itself.<ref name=WCoW/> Only two attacks on humans have been reported, both near [[Almaty]] in Kazakhstan, and neither were fatal. In 1940, a [[Rabies|rabid]] snow leopard attacked two men; and an old, toothless [[emaciated]] individual attacked a person passing by.<ref name=Heptner1972>{{cite book |author=Heptner, V. G. |title=Mlekopitajuščie Sovetskogo Soiuza. Moskva: Vysšaia Škola |author2=Sludskij, A. A. |publisher=Smithsonian Institution and the National Science Foundation |year=1992 |location=Washington DC |pages=276–319 |trans-title=Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume II, Part 2. Carnivora (Hyaenas and Cats) |chapter=Snow Leopard, Ounce [Irbis] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov221992gept#page/276/mode/2up |orig-year=1972}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Diseases of Free-Ranging Snow Leopards and Primary Prey Species |last1=Ostrowski |first1=S. |last2=Gilbert |first2=M. |name-list-style=amp |date=2016 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-802213-9.00009-2 |editor=Nyhus, P.J. |title=Snow Leopards. Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |journal=Snow Leopards |pages=97–112 |publisher=Academic Press |pmc=7149802 |isbn=9780128022139 |place=Amsterdam}}</ref>

===Reproduction and life cycle===
{{multiple image |align=right |perrow=1 |image1=SnowCubs01.jpg |caption1=Cubs at the Cat Survival Trust in [[Welwyn]] |image2=Schneeleoparden Kailash und Dshamilja frontal.jpg |caption2=Female with her cub in [[Zurich Zoo]]}}
Snow leopards become [[sexually mature]] at two to three years, and normally live for 15–18 years in the wild. In captivity they can live for up to 25 years. [[Oestrus]] typically lasts five to eight days, and males tend not to seek out another partner after mating, probably because the short mating season does not allow sufficient time. Paired snow leopards mate in [[Lordosis behavior|the usual felid posture]], from 12 to 36 times a day. They are unusual among large cats in that they have a well-defined birth peak. They usually [[mating|mate]] in late winter, marked by a noticeable increase in marking and calling. Females have a [[gestation period]] of 90–100 days, and the cubs are born between April and June.<ref name=WCoW />
A [[Litter (animal)|litter]] usually consists of two to three cubs, in exceptional cases there can be up to seven.<ref name=Heptner1972/>

The female gives birth in a rocky den or crevice lined with fur shed from her underside. The cubs are born blind and helpless, although already with a thick coat of fur, and weigh {{cvt|320|to|567|g}}. Their eyes open at around seven days, and the cubs can walk at five weeks and are fully weaned by 10 weeks. The cubs leave the den when they are around two to four months of age.<ref name=WCoW /> Three radio-collared snow leopards in Mongolia's Tost Mountains gave birth between late April and late June. Two female cubs started to part from their mothers at the age of 20 to 21 months, but reunited with them several times for a few days over a period of 4–7 months. One male cub separated from his mother at the age of about 22 months, but stayed in her vicinity for a month and moved out of his natal range at 23 months of age.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Johansson, Ö. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Ausilio, G. |author3=Low, M. |author4=Lkhagvajav, P. |author5=Weckworth, B. |author6=Sharma, K. |year=2021 |title=The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs |journal=Mammalian Biology |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=173–180 |doi=10.1007/s42991-020-00073-3 |s2cid=225114786|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The snow leopard has a [[Generation time|generation length]] of eight years.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Generation length for mammals |author1=Pacifici, M. |author2=Santini, L. |author3=Di Marco, M. |author4=Baisero, D. |author5=Francucci, L. |author6=Grottolo Marasini, G. |author7=Visconti, P. |author8=Rondinini, C. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Nature Conservation |year=2013 |issue=5 |pages=87–94 |url=https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/1343/download/pdf/ |access-date=2021-12-14 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100440/https://public.pensoft.net/items/?p=7TVeXpoqfNYT89tyrm3ifrTeG9Wv8P676JSQp%2FH2pj9hhtoybol4GF7LEbj3fxHT5Fo8esHssd8AZJJjYwzdbg3GcZsNHuJOa4gmjCSnaHvANmBj%2Fwp1NviUrA%3D%3D&n=jBkDGoBjLZpLg8l0u3DocbiHT4vo7NGs6a%2BO%2Bfbm7w%3D%3D |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Threats ==
Major threats to the population include poaching and illegal trade of its skins and body parts.<ref name=iucn /> Between 1999 and 2002, three live snow leopard cubs and 16 skins were [[confiscated]], 330 [[Trapping|traps]] were destroyed and 110 poachers were arrested in Kyrgyzstan. [[Undercover operation]]s in the country revealed an illegal trade network with links to Russia and China via Kazakhstan. The major skin trade center in the region is the city of [[Kashgar]] in [[Xinjiang]].<ref name=Dexel2002>{{cite book |author=Dexel, B. |year=2002 |title=The Illegal Trade in Snow Leopards – A Global Perspective |publisher=German Society for Nature Conservation |citeseerx=10.1.1.498.7184 |place=Berlin}}</ref> In Tibet and Mongolia, skins are used for traditional dresses, and meat in [[traditional Tibetan medicine]] to cure [[kidney]] problems; bones are used in [[traditional Chinese medicine|traditional Chinese]] and [[traditional Mongolian medicine|Mongolian medicine]] for treating [[rheumatism]], injuries and pain of human bones and [[tendon]]s. Between 1996 and 2002, 37 skins were found in wildlife markets and tourist shops in Mongolia.<ref name=Theile2003>{{cite book |author=Theile, S. |year=2003 |title=Fading footprints; the killing and trade of snow leopards |publisher=TRAFFIC International |place=Cambridge, UK |isbn=1-85850-201-2 |url=https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/4012/fading_footprints.pdf |access-date=2021-04-20 |archive-date=2021-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420080149/https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/4012/fading_footprints.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 2003 and 2016, 710 skins were traded, of which 288 skins were confiscated. In China, an estimated 103 to 236 animals are poached every year, in Mongolia between 34 and 53, in Pakistan between 23 and 53, in India from 21 to 45, and in Tajikistan 20 to 25. In 2016, a survey of Chinese websites revealed 15 advertisements for 44 snow leopard products; the dealers offered skins, canine teeth, claws and a tongue.<ref>{{cite book |author=Nowell, K. |author2=Li, J. |author3=Paltsyn, M. |author4=Sharma, R.K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016 |title=An Ounce of Prevention: Snow Leopard Crime Revisited |publisher=TRAFFIC International |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-1-85850-409-4 |url=https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/2358/ounce-of-prevention.pdf |access-date=2021-04-20 |archive-date=2021-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410225531/https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/2358/ounce-of-prevention.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2014, nine snow leopard skins were found during a market survey in Afghanistan.<ref name=Maheshwari_al2016>{{cite journal |author1=Maheshwari, A. |year=2016 |name-list-style=amp |author2=Niraj, S. K. |author3=Sathyakumar, S. |author4=Thakur, M. |author5=Sharma, L. K. |title=Snow leopard illegal trade in Afghanistan: A rapid survey |journal=Cat News |issue=64 |pages=22–23}}</ref>

[[Greenhouse gas]] emissions will likely cause a shift of the [[treeline]] in the Himalayas and a shrinking of the [[alpine zone]], which may reduce snow leopard habitat by an estimated 30%.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Forrest, J. L. |author2=Wikramanayake, E. |author3=Shrestha, R. |author4=Areendran, G. |author5=Gyeltshen, K. |author6=Maheshwari, A. |author7=Mazumdar, S. |author8=Naidoo, R. |author9=Thapa, G. J. |author10=Thapa, K. |name-list-style=amp |date=2012 |title=Conservation and climate change: Assessing the vulnerability of snow leopard habitat to treeline shift in the Himalaya |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=150 |issue=1 |pages=129–135 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.03.001 |bibcode=2012BCons.150..129F |url=http://snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Forrest%20J.%20L%20et%20al_2012.pdf |access-date=2019-05-24 |archive-date=2017-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809022320/http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/bibliography/Forrest%20J.%20L%20et%20al_2012.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Where snow leopards prey on domestic [[livestock]], they are subject to [[human–wildlife conflict]].<ref name=iucn />
The loss of natural prey due to overgrazing by livestock, poaching, and defense of livestock are the major drivers for the ever decreasing snow leopard population.<ref name=WCoW /> Livestock also cause habitat degradation, which, alongside the increasing use of forests for fuel, reduces snow leopard habitat.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://undp-biodiversity.exposure.co/what-water-means-to-snow-leopards |title=What water means to snow leopards |publisher=UNDP |date=2 June 2022 |access-date=6 August 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601223215/https://undp-biodiversity.exposure.co/what-water-means-to-snow-leopards |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Conservation ==
{| class="wikitable sortable floatright"
|+ Global snow leopard population
|- valign=bottom
! Country !! Year !! Estimate
|-
| Afghanistan || 2016|| 50–200<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Moheb, Z. |author2=Paley, R. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Central Asia: Afghanistan |pages=409–417 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Bhutan || 2023 || 134<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023 |title=The National Snow Leopard Survey 2022-23 Confirms 134 snow leopards in the country |work=Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources |place=Thimphu, Bhutan |url=https://www.moenr.gov.bt/?p=13349#:~:text=The%20survey%20confirmed%20the%20presence,leopards%20per%20100%20km%20sq |access-date=2024-11-21 }}</ref>
|-
| China || 2016 || 4,500<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |name-list-style=amp |author1=Liu, Y. |author2=Weckworth, B. |author3=Li, J. |author4=Xiao, L. |author5=Zhao, X. |author6=Lu, Z. |chapter=China: The Tibetan Plateau, Sanjiangyuan Region |pages=513–521}}</ref>
|-
| India || 2024 || 718<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Das |first=B. |date=2024 |title=First baseline estimate of India's snow leopard numbers |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d44151-024-00015-9 |journal=Nature India |doi=10.1038/d44151-024-00015-9|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
|-
| Kazakhstan || 2016 || 100–120<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Loginov, O. |chapter=Central Asia: Kazakhstan |pages=427–430 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Kyrgyzstan || 2016 || 300–400<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Daveltbakov, A. |author2=Rosen, T. |author3=Anarbaev, M. |author4=Kubanychbekov, Z. |author5=Jumabai uulu, K. |author6=Samanchina, J. |author7=Sharma, K. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan |pages=419–425 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Mongolia || 2016 || 1,000<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Munkhtsok, B. |author2=Purevjav, L. |author3=McCarthy, T. |author4=Bayrakçismith, R. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Northern Range: Mongolia |pages=493–500 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Nepal || 2016 || 301–400<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Ale, S. |author2=Shah, K. B. |author3=Jackson, R. M. |author4=Rosen, T. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=South Asia: Nepal |pages=471–479 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Pakistan || 2016 || 250–420<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Khan, A. |chapter=South Asia: Pakistan |pages=481–491 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Russia || 2016 || 70–90<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Paltsyn, M. |author2=Poyarkov, A. |author3=Spitsyn, S. |author4=Kuksin, A. |author5=Istomov, S. |author6=Gibbs, J.P. |author7=Jackson, R. M. |author8=Castner, J. |author9=Kozlova, S. |author10=Karnaukhov, A. |author11=Malykh, S. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Northern Range: Russia |pages=501–511 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA501 |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100514/https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA501 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| Tajikistan || 2016 || 250–280<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Saidov, A. |author2=Karimov, K. |author3=Amirov, Z. |author4=Rosen, T. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Central Asia: Tajikistan |pages=433–437 |chapter-url=}}</ref>
|-
| Uzbekistan || 2016 || 30–120<ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Esipov, A. |author2=Bykova, E. |author3=Protas, Y. |author4=Aromov, B. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Central Asia: Uzbekistan |pages=439–448 |chapter-url=}}</ref> 
|}
The snow leopard is listed in [[CITES Appendix I]].<ref name="Nowell&Jackson1996">{{cite book |author1=Nowell, K. |author2=Jackson, P. |title=Wild cats: Status survey and conservation action plan |year=1996 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |location=Gland, Switzerland |isbn=9782831700458 |chapter=Snow leopard, ''Uncia uncia'' |pages=91–95}}</ref> They have been listed as threatened with extinction in Schedule I of the [[Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals]] since 1985.<ref name=Theile2003/>
Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Kyrgyzstan since the 1950s.<ref name=Dexel2002/> In India, the snow leopard is granted the highest level of protection under the [[Wildlife Protection Act, 1972]], and hunting is sentenced with [[imprisonment]] of 3–7 years.<ref name=Bhatnagar_al2016>{{cite book |author1=Bhatnagar, Y. V. |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |author2=Mathur, V. B. |author3=Sathyakumar, S. |author4=Ghoshal, A. |author5=Sharma, R. K. |author6=Bijoor, A. |author7=Raghunath, R. |author8=Timbadia, R. |author9=Lal, P. |publisher=Academic Press |year=2016 |isbn=9780128024966 |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |pages=457–470 |chapter=South Asia: India |chapter-url= |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> In Nepal, they have been legally protected since 1973, with penalties of 5–15 years in prison and a [[Fine (penalty)|fine]] for poaching and trading them.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Kattel, B. |author2=Bajiimaya, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=1995 |chapter=Status and conservation of Snow Leopard in Nepal |pages=21–27 |title=Proceedings of the Eighth International Snow Leopard Symposium, 12–16 November 1995, Islamabad, Pakistan |editor1=Jackson, R. |editor2=Ahmad, A. A. |publisher=International Snow Leopard Trust |location=Islamabad, Pakistan}}</ref>
Since 1978, they have been listed in the [[Soviet Union]]’s Red Book and is still inscribed today in the [[Red Data Book of the Russian Federation]] as threatened with extinction. Hunting snow leopards is only permitted for the purposes of conservation and monitoring, and to eliminate a threat to the life of humans and livestock. [[Smuggling]] of snow leopard body parts is punished with imprisonment and a [[Fine (penalty)|fine]].<ref>{{cite report |author1=Paltsyn, M.Y. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Spitsyn, S.V. |author3=Kuksin, A.N. |author4=Istomov, S.V. |year=2012 |title=Snow Leopard Conservation in Russia – Data for Conservation Strategy for Snow Leopard in Russia |publisher=WWF Russia |place=Krasnoyarsk |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312300841}}</ref>
Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Afghanistan since 1986.<ref name=Maheshwari_al2016/>
In China, they have been protected by law since 1989; hunting and trading snow leopards or their body parts constitute a [[crime|criminal]] offence that is punishable by the [[confiscation]] of property, a fine and a [[Sentence (law)|sentence]] of at least 10 years in prison.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Riordan, P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Kun, S. |year=2010 |title=The Snow Leopard in China |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 5 |pages=14–17 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274340237}}</ref>
They have been protected in Bhutan since 1995.<ref name="Lham_al2016">{{cite report |title=National Snow Leopard Survey of Bhutan – Phase II: Camera Trap Survey for Population Estimation |author1=Lham, D. |author2=Thinley, P. |publisher=Wildlife Conservation Division, Department of Forests and Park Services |location=Thimphu, Bhutan |author3=Wangchuk, S. |author4=Wangchuk, N. |author5=Lham, K. |author6=Namgay, T. |author7=Tharchen, L. |author8=Wangchuck, T. |name-list-style=amp |year=2016}}</ref>

At the end of 2020, 35 cameras were installed on the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan in hopes to catch footage of snow leopards. In November 2021, it was announced by the Russian World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that snow leopards were spotted 65 times on these cameras in the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains since the cameras were installed.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bulatkulova |first=Saniya |date=2021-11-21 |title=Snow Leopards Caught On Camera 65 Times and Counting This Year Alone in Almaty Region |url=https://astanatimes.com/2021/11/snow-leopards-caught-on-camera-65-times-and-counting-this-year-alone-in-almaty-region/ |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=The Astana Times |language=en |archive-date=2021-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123020849/https://astanatimes.com/2021/11/snow-leopards-caught-on-camera-65-times-and-counting-this-year-alone-in-almaty-region/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Johansson2016/><ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Esipov, A. |author2=Bykova, E. |author3=Protas, Y. |author4=Aromov, B. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Central Asia: Uzbekistan |pages=439–447 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA439 |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100451/https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA439 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Jackson, R. |year=1998 |chapter=People-Wildlife Conflict Management in the Qomolangma Nature Preserve, Tibet |pages=40–46 |title=Tibet's Biodiversity: Conservation and Management. Proceedings of a Conference, August 30 – September 4, 1998 |editor1-last=Wu Ning |editor2-last=D. Miller |editor3-last=Lhu Zhu |editor4-last=J. Springer |publisher=Tibet Forestry Department and World Wide Fund for Nature |chapter-url=http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/pdf/Tibet%20Biodiversity%20Conference%201998.pdf |access-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-date=June 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629144722/http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/pdf/Tibet%20Biodiversity%20Conference%201998.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |year=2016 |title=Snow Leopards |editor1=McCarthy, T. |editor2=Mallon, D. |publisher=Academic Press |location=Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York |isbn=9780128024966 |author1=Liu, Y. |author2=Weckworth, B. |author3=Li, J. |author4=Xiao, L. |author5=Zhao, X. |author6=Lu, Z. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=China: The Tibetan Plateau, Sanjiangyuan Region |pages=513–521 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA513 |access-date=2020-12-12 |archive-date=2023-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210100452/https://books.google.com/books?id=nAvSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA513 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

=== Global Snow Leopard Forum ===
In 2013, government leaders and officials from all 12 countries encompassing the snow leopard's range (Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) came together at the Global Snow Leopard Forum (GSLF) initiated by the then-President of Kyrgyzstan [[Almazbek Atambayev]], and the State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry under the government of Kyrgyzstan. The meeting was held in [[Bishkek]], and all countries agreed that the snow leopard and the high mountain habitat need trans-boundary support to ensure a viable future for snow leopard populations, and to safeguard its fragile environment. The event brought together many partners, including [[Non-governmental organisation|NGOs]] like the [[Snow Leopard Conservancy]], the [[Snow Leopard Trust]], and the [[Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union]]. Also supporting the initiative were the Snow Leopard Network, the [[World Bank]]'s [[Global Tiger Initiative]], the [[United Nations Development Programme]], the [[World Wild Fund for Nature]], the [[United States Agency for International Development]], and [[Global Environment Facility]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2013/10/02/global-snow-leopard-conservation-forum|access-date=2021-04-17|website=World Bank |archive-date=2021-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417150126/https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2013/10/02/global-snow-leopard-conservation-forum|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== In captivity ===
[[File:Lightmatter snowleopard.jpg|thumb|Snow leopard in the [[San Diego Zoo]]]]
The [[Moscow Zoo]] exhibited the first captive snow leopard in 1872 that had been caught in [[Turkestan]]. In Kyrgyzstan, 420 live snow leopards were caught between 1936 and 1988 and exported to zoos around the world. The [[Bronx Zoo]] housed a live snow leopard in 1903; this was the first ever specimen exhibited in a North American zoo.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Foderaro |first=L. W. |date=2013 |title=Almost 5 Months Old, Bronx Native Makes Zoo Debut |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/nyregion/baby-snow-leopard-born-at-bronx-zoo-is-now-on-display.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2013-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828204827/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/nyregion/baby-snow-leopard-born-at-bronx-zoo-is-now-on-display.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The first [[captive breeding|captive bred]] snow leopard cubs were born in the 1990s in the [[Beijing Zoo]].<ref name=Dexel2002/>
The Snow Leopard [[Species Survival Plan]] was initiated in 1984; by 1986, [[List of zoos in the United States|American zoos]] held 234 individuals.<ref>{{cite book |author=Wharton, D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Freeman, H. |year=1988 |chapter=The Snow Leopard in North America: Captive Breeding Under the Species Survival Plan |pages=131–136 |title=Proceedings of the Fifth International Snow Leopard Symposium |editor1=Freeman, H. |publisher=International Snow Leopard Trust and Wildlife Institute of India |location=Seattle and Dehra Dun}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Chapter 23 - The Role of Zoos in Snow Leopard Conservation: Captive Snow Leopards as Ambassadors of Wild Kin |date=2016 |chapter-url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128022139000237 |title=Snow Leopards |pages=311–322 |editor-last=McCarthy |editor-first=T. |publisher=Academic Press |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-802213-9.00023-7 |isbn=978-0-12-802213-9 |editor2-last=Mallon |editor2-first=D. |archive-date=2024-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505145525/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128022139000237 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Cultural significance==
[[File:SnowLeopard10000KZT.jpg|thumb|Snow leopard on the reverse of the old 10,000-Kazakhstani tenge banknote]]
[[File:Coat_of_arms_of_Tatarstan.svg|thumb|Emblem of [[Tatarstan]], depicting the Aq Bars, a mythical winged Snow leopard]]
The snow leopard is widely used in [[heraldry]] and as an emblem in Central Asia. The ''[[Aq Bars]]'' ('White Leopard') is a political symbol of the [[Tatars]], [[Kazakhs]], and [[Bulgars]]. A mythical winged ''Aq Bars'' is depicted on the national [[coat of arms of Tatarstan]], the seal of the city of [[Samarqand]], Uzbekistan and the old coat of arms of [[Astana]]. A snow leopard is depicted on the official seal of [[Almaty]] and on the former 10,000 [[Kazakhstani tenge]] banknote. In Kyrgyzstan, it is used in highly stylized form in the modern emblem of the capital [[Bishkek]], and the same art has been integrated into the badge of the [[Scouting in Kyrgyzstan#Kyrgyzstan Girl Scouts Association|Kyrgyzstan Girl Scouts Association]]. It is also considered to be a sacred creature by the [[Kyrgyz people]]. A crowned snow leopard features in the arms of [[Shushensky District]] in Russia. It is the [[List of Indian state animals|state animal]] of [[Ladakh]] and [[Himachal Pradesh]] in India.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Religion and Cultural Impacts on Snow Leopard Conservation |date=2016 |title=Snow Leopards |pages=197–217 |editor-last=McCarthy |editor-first=T. |editor2-last=Mallon |editor2-first=D. |publisher=Academic Press |place=Cambridge |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-802213-9.00015-8 |isbn=978-0-12-802213-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hussain |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlbHDwAAQBAJ |title=The Snow Leopard and the Goat: Politics of Conservation in the Western Himalayas |date=2019 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-74658-6 |access-date=2023-06-25 |archive-date=2023-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108185431/https://books.google.com/books?id=GlbHDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The 1978 book ''[[The Snow Leopard]]'' is an account by [[Peter Matthiessen]] about his two-month journey through the [[Dolpo]] region of the Nepal Himalayas in search of the snow leopard.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matthiessen |first=P. |date=1978 |title=The Snow Leopard |publisher=Viking Press |place=New York |isbn=0-670-65374-8}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of largest cats]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite magazine |last1=Jackson |first1=R. |first2=D. |last2=Hillard |date=June 1986 |title=Tracking the Elusive Snow Leopard |magazine=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |pages=793–809 |volume=169 |issue=6 |oclc=643483454}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Janczewski | first1 = D. N. | last2=Modi | first2 = W. S. | last3 = Stephens | first3 = J. C. | last4 = O'Brien | first4 = S. J. | date = July 1995 | title = Molecular Evolution of Mitochondrial 12S RNA and Cytochrome b Sequences in the Pantherine Lineage of Felidae | journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution | volume=12 | issue=4 |pages=690–707 | pmid =7544865 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040232| doi-access = free }}

== External links ==
{{Commons and category|Panthera uncia|Uncia_uncia}}
<!---- BEFORE adding links here please MAKE SURE you understand Wikipedia's policy on external links, [[Wikipedia:External links]] ----->
*{{cite web |title=The Snow Leopard Network |url=http://www.snowleopardnetwork.org/ |website=Snow Leopard Network}}
*{{cite web |title=Ensuring Snow Leopard survival and conserving mountain landscapes by expanding environmental awareness and sharing innovative practices through community stewardship and partnerships |url=http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/ |website= Snow Leopard Conservancy}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.panthera.org/species/snow-leopard/ |title=Snow Leopard Program |website=Panthera |access-date=2015-02-27 |archive-date=2015-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007030610/http://www.panthera.org/species/snow-leopard/ |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=100 |title=Snow Leopard |website=IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group}}

{{Carnivora|Fe.}}
{{Panthers in India}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q30197}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Apex predators]]
[[Category:Big cats]]
[[Category:Mammals of East Asia]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Himalayas]]
[[Category:Fauna of Siberia]]
[[Category:Felids of Asia]]
[[Category:Felids of India]]
[[Category:IUCN Red List vulnerable species]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1775|Snow leopard]]
[[Category:Mammals of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of South Asia]]
[[Category:National symbols of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Panthera|Snow leopard]]
[[Category:Symbols of Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Vulnerable animals]]
[[Category:Vulnerable biota of Asia]]
[[Category:National symbols of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber]]