Snow Leopards


Do you love these big beautiful cats? When I blogged about lynx last week, several of you mentioned how snow leopards were your favorite of all the big cats. So, of course I had to profile these amazing animals this week.

 What surprised me the most about snow leopards was the extreme altitudes at which these cats live, anywhere from 9800 to 17000 feet. Below is a video that shows several snow leopards in the wild and which also discusses some of the conservation efforts in Kyrgyzstan. The link shows a map as well.

 FunFacts about Snow Leopards (Source) (Source) (Source)
  • Snow Leopards are 2 feet high at the shoulders and 6-7.5 feet in length which includes the tail which can be as long as 4 feet.
  • They live in the mountains of central Asia at altitudes ranging from 9800 feet to 17000 feet.
  • Like the lynx, they have wide paws that are completely fur-covered and which function like snowshoes.
  • Their long tails help them to create balance and also protect sensitive areas of their bodies against the cold.
  • Snow Leopards are an endangered species with an estimated population in the wild between 3500 to 7000. There are 600-700 in zoos.
  • Their habitat ranges from Afghanistan and Russia to India and China.
  • Snow leopards prefer to live in areas with steep cliffs and narrow ravines.
  • When stalking their prey, they can leap from distances up to 50 feet.
  • Snow leopards, unlike other big cats, are unable to roar.
  • They are most active at dawn and dusk.
  • Snow leopards mate between January and mid-March. Gestation is 3-3 ½ months with a typical litter of 2-3 cubs.
  • The cubs start hunting at 3 months and remain with their mother through the first winter.
  • Snow leopards have green or gray eyes while most other big cats have yellow or gold eyes.
  • Typical weight: 77 – 120 pounds.










I hope you enjoyed today's blog!
Have a wonderful day and the best week ever!
Hugs,
Valerie Bosna
     Writing As...
     Caris Roane
     Valerie King
     Eliot Wilde

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pink Hydrangeas

Image
"You are the beat of my heart..." Supposedly, these words were used to describe the pink hydrangea by a celebrated Asian florist, Tan Yun Yong. The full quote is more elaborate: "The light delicate blush of the petals reminds me of a beating heart, while the size could only match the heart of the sender!" ( Source )  I have a fondness for hydrangeas though I've never grown them. I have a painting in my home that features hydrangeas as well as a print. For today's post, I collected a bunch of photos featured below. But I've included my personal favorite here. I love how lush yet how delicate these flowers are. They are almost too much. The Victorians must have thought so as well because one of the meanings they assigned to hydrangeas was 'boastful'. To read more about how to choose, grow and care for hydrangeas, check out this blog  on Plant Care Today! FunFacts about Hydrangeas ( Source ) The hydrangea plant and flower is also commo
Read more

Bruges Belgium

Image
Bruges Belgium ***Note: This blog first appeared on my Caris Roane blog in August, 2017 Here is one of the prettiest medieval cities in Europe. The word Bruges means 'bridges' which is a sensible name for a city with over eighty bridges crossing dozens of canals. I couldn’t resist doing a brief look at Bruges because of my general fascination with canals and living near all that water. Yes, I do think my interest is partly because I live in the desert. Water anywhere becomes intriguing, lol! Bruges Belgium Funfacts ( Source ) ( Source ) : ·          Bruges is one of the most-visited medieval cities in the world. ·          Belgium is a Western European country of 11,787 square miles and is bordered by France, the Netherlands, the North Sea, Germany and Luxembourg. It has 11 million people: 59 % Dutch speaking Flemish and the rest are mostly the French speaking Walloon people. ·          With 470 castles, Belgium has more castles per square inch than any other
Read more

Tuscany

Image
Did you ever see the movie, A Room with a View ? It's one of my favorites and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Helena Bonham-Carter and Maggie Smith among others. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it highly. It's a wonderful period piece and Daniel Day-Lewis's performance alone is worth a gander. But as the story opens, we're in Florence in Tuscany. We even get to see some of the city's beauties as well as the countryside. For those of you familiar with the film, here's a video featuring the kiss in the poppy field.  I've traveled in Europe, but not in Italy. I hope one day to make the journey, though I confess I don't travel easily. Long distances on a plane drive me to distraction. And it's not like the pilot can pull-over so I can stretch my legs, lol. But Italy is one of those places that should be on everyone's bucket-list. Tuscany in particular has a long history including the Etruscans who built one of the first civiliza
Read more