Snow Leopard

Your adoption package includes:

• Adorable plush animal
• ZooParent adoption certificate
• Color photo
• Animal fact sheet
• ZooParent static window cling
• Woodland Park Zoo folder

Reproduction
Female snow leopards sexually mature at the age of 2 or 3. Males mature by age 4. The gestation period lasts from 90 to 103 days. Births occur in the wild and in zoos from April through June. Females can give birth to one to five cubs but usually two or three. Most often the mother gives birth in a rocky den lined with her soft fur.

Life Cycle
Cubs are born with their eyes closed and it takes about seven days for them to open. They eat their first solid food after two months and follow their mother around at 3 months. Cubs hunt with their mother through at least the first winter. After about 18 months cubs leave their mother to live alone.

On Their Own
Snow leopards are essentially solitary mammals but male and female pairs have shown high sociability and bonding in zoos. In the wild a snow leopard may range across a 38 square-mile (99 sq.-km) area because of its prey’s sparse distribution.

Different snow leopards’ territories may overlap but the animals keep far apart. The only exception to this is when a mated pair occasionally shares a range. In its home area, a snow leopard prefers to stay on high cliffs and steep terrain because it can keep watch for prey or danger. Their huge furry paws are perfect for gripping and jumping on and over rocks and frozen ground. Also, their long tails are used for balance when moving around. Snow leopards, like many other big cats, mark their territory by spraying urine against objects such as rocky outcroppings, bushes or small trees. These cats spray at nose level so other cats can easily smell the markings.

Elusive Leopard
The snow leopard has a thick, pale yellowish-gray coat with black rosettes, small black spots and a black broken stripe of spots along the spine. The belly and underparts are whitish. This coloring gives the snow leopard great camouflage in the snowy mountains and rocky slopes where it lives. Along with this camouflage, small numbers and secretive habits, the snow leopard is very hard to study in the wild. Also, in the wild, these animals are most active during the hours around dawn and dusk.