Our Animal of the Week is the snow leopard! Snow leopards are found in 12 different countries in Asia, centering around the Himalaya mountains. Some of those countries include Nepal, Mongolia, China, Afghanistan, and Russia. They live primarily in the mountainous steppe and scrub forests and have many adaptations that help them live in these colder, rockier habitats. The most noticeable is probably their large tail, which can weigh about 10 pounds. That weight helps them when they are chasing prey in the mountains, it acts as a rudder and a counterbalance. These leopards also have very thick fur, their belly fur is typically three to five inches long to help insulate them from the snow and ice. They also have six-inch wide paws to help when they are walking on rocks, snow and ice. Snow leopards typically eat wild sheep and boar, small mammals and birds. Even though they are smaller cats, they are very powerful, they can take down prey three times their size! Snow leopards are considered endangered, due to poaching and habitat loss. There are only about 4,500-6,000 left in the wild. Since their habitat is disappearing, snow leopards have started to prey on farmers’ livestock, so the farmers end up killing the leopards to keep their livestock safe. The Snow Leopard Trust is an organization that was started to help teach farmers and villagers in Central Asia about these leopards, and why they should protect them. Here at the Zoo, we have two snow leopards, Lotus and Raj. These two leopards are actually related, Lotus is Raj’s grandmother! Lotus is 17 years old, and Raj is two years old. Raj came to us last year from the zoo in Akron, Ohio, where his mom, Shanti, lives. Shanti was born at Binder Park in 2008, but was rejected by her mother Lotus, so the zookeepers raised her. During the regular season we do public training sessions with our snow leopards, so make sure to stop by this summer to get an up close look at them! If you would like to learn more about snow leopards, and the Snow Leopard Trust, visit snowleopard.org - Megan Pushie
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:00:01 +0000
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