Student assignment. (requirement for course by Peter Kabai)

SNOW LEOPARD (UNCIA UNCIA)

By Irene Borge

Introduction:

The snow leopard is one of natures finest predators. They are endangered mostly due to hunting for their beautiful white/grey fur with markings similar to the leopard (Panthera pardus). Even though the English name suggests a close relationship to the common leopard the snow leopard is the only member of the genus Uncia.

Habitat:

The snow leopards are found at high altitudes in Asia at alpine and steppe communities. Since they are nocturnal or crepuscular animals and very rare little is known of their territorial behaviour, but some observations have been done. The males are believed to have large territories overlapping territories of several females.

They are extremely well adapted to their environment. They have a thick grey/white fur with black dots or rings providing the right protection against the blistering cold and camouflage for the prey animals. They have a very long tail, up to 90 cm, covered by a thick layer of fur helping them keeping their balance during climbing in the rocky terrain. Furry feet help them stay on top of the snow with the same effect as the snow shoes.

Hunting:

They hunt mostly solitary but there have been observations of snow leopards hunting in small groups, and it is not uncommon for a couple to hunt together during the breeding season either. They hunt for a wide variety of animals but mostly ungulates such as Blue Sheep and goats, but also hares and birds. They stalk their prey often under cover of the terrain and leap down to and kill the animal with a lethal bite to the throat or neck region. The powerful predator can bring down an animal up to three times its own size.

Unlike distant relatives such as the tiger and the common leopard, the snow leopards are not known to display aggressive behaviour towards human. When their normal prey is rare they can start hunting for domestic animals.

Breeding:

The snow leopards mate during the winter. They come together and mate several times for about a week when the female is in oestrus. Both the female and the male spray their territories, so the male can smell when the females are in oestrus. The cubs are born in early spring at the same time as the blue sheep and the goats get their offspring, so the food source is optimal. The female is pregnant for an approximately 95-100 days and gets between one to four cubs, normally two. The cubs are born blind and are about 30 cm. long weighing about half a kilo. They are born with a thick fur coat and are darker than the adults. They grow rapid and stay with their mother until they are about 18 months, before they wander off to find their own territory. They are sexual mature at an age of two to three years and can live for up to fifteen years in captivity.

Conservation:

Estimation of the total number of snow leopards is difficult since they are rarely seen, but estimations vary between 3500 and 8500. The snow leopard is on the IUNCs red list of threaten animals. The snow leopard is endangered because of intensive killing by man. They are killed for several reasons, their beautiful skin is an attractive sales ware and their bones are used in the ancient Chinese medicine. As earlier mentioned the snow leopards are known to start hunting for livestock when the natural food source is poor, and retaliation by farmers posts also a serious problem.

Between 300 and 500 snow leopards live in Nepal and the conservation of snow leopards was started at the beginning of the 1970s and an act from 1973 listed the snow leopard as a fully protected species. The penalty of pouching snow leopards is quite strict with fines up to 1300$ and five to fifteen years in prison, but the management of the laws and the catching of the poachers have been proven very difficult. There is now a common understanding that the protection of a single species especially a large predator can not be done without protecting the habitat and ensuring migration of the snow leopards to prevent inbreeding and to ensure a healthy population.

Conclusion:

The protection of large predators has been proven to be very difficult but it is important. Since the problem is man made and retaliation of livestock attacks is one of the most common reasons for killing the snow leopard this is also an economic problem. Education of the local farmers and the people should be one of the first steps to prevent further poaching and stress to the small snow leopard population in Nepal. This is not only a national problem and involves several countries and international cooperation is necessary for the protection of these beautiful and fascinating animals.

Sources:

http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/snow_leopard.html
http://www.snowleopard.org/islt/pdf_bin/Ale_Nepal_Conservation.pdf
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/snowlep.htm
http://home.globalcrossing.net/~brendel/snolep.html
http://www.pbs.org/kratts/world/eurasia/leopard/index.html

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SNOW LEOPARD (UNCIA UNCIA) By Irene Borge Introduction: The snow leopard is one of natures finest predators. They are endangered mostly due to hunting for their beautiful white/grey fur with markings similar to the leopard (Panthera pardus). Even though the English name suggests a close relationship to the common leopard the snow leopard is the only member of the genus Uncia. Habitat: The snow leopards are found at high altitudes in Asia at alpine and steppe communities. Since they are nocturnal or crepuscular animals and very rare little is known of their territorial behaviour, but some observations have been done. The males are believed to have large territories overlapping territories of several females. They are extremely well adapted to their environment. They have a thick grey/white fur with black dots or rings providing the right protection against the blistering cold and camouflage for the prey animals. They have a very long tail, up to 90 cm, covered by a thick layer of fur helping them keeping their balance during climbing in the rocky terrain. Furry feet help them stay on top of the snow with the same effect as the snow shoes. Hunting: They hunt mostly solitary but there have been observations of snow leopards hunting in small groups, and it is not uncommon for a couple to hunt together during the breeding season either. They hunt for a wide variety of animals but mostly ungulates such as Blue Sheep and goats, but also hares and birds. They stalk their prey often under cover of the terrain and leap down to and kill the animal with a lethal bite to the throat or neck region. The powerful predator can bring down an animal up to three times its own size. Unlike distant relatives such as the tiger and the common leopard, the snow leopards are not known to display aggressive behaviour towards human. When their normal prey is rare they can start hunting for domestic animals. Breeding: The snow leopards mate during the winter. They come together and mate several times for about a week when the female is in oestrus. Both the female and the male spray their territories, so the male can smell when the females are in oestrus. The cubs are born in early spring at the same time as the blue sheep and the goats get their offspring, so the food source is optimal. The female is pregnant for an approximately 95-100 days and gets between one to four cubs, normally two. The cubs are born blind and are about 30 cm. long weighing about half a kilo. They are born with a thick fur coat and are darker than the adults. They grow rapid and stay with their mother until they are about 18 months, before they wander off to find their own territory. They are sexual mature at an age of two to three years and can live for up to fifteen years in captivity. Conservation: Estimation of the total number of snow leopards is difficult since they are rarely seen, but estimations vary between 3500 and 8500. The snow leopard is on the IUNCs red list of threaten animals. The snow leopard is endangered because of intensive killing by man. They are killed for several reasons, their beautiful skin is an attractive sales ware and their bones are used in the ancient Chinese medicine. As earlier mentioned the snow leopards are known to start hunting for livestock when the natural food source is poor, and retaliation by farmers posts also a serious problem. Between 300 and 500 snow leopards live in Nepal and the conservation of snow leopards was started at the beginning of the 1970s and an act from 1973 listed the snow leopard as a fully protected species. The penalty of pouching snow leopards is quite strict with fines up to 1300$ and five to fifteen years in prison, but the management of the laws and the catching of the poachers have been proven very difficult. There is now a common understanding that the protection of a single species especially a large predator can not be done without protecting the habitat and ensuring migration of the snow leopards to prevent inbreeding and to ensure a healthy population. Conclusion: The protection of large predators has been proven to be very difficult but it is important. Since the problem is man made and retaliation of livestock attacks is one of the most common reasons for killing the snow leopard this is also an economic problem. Education of the local farmers and the people should be one of the first steps to prevent further poaching and stress to the small snow leopard population in Nepal. This is not only a national problem and involves several countries and international cooperation is necessary for the protection of these beautiful and fascinating animals. Sources: http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/snow_leopard.html http://www.snowleopard.org/islt/pdf_bin/Ale_Nepal_Conservation.pdf http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/snowlep.htm http://home.globalcrossing.net/~brendel/snolep.html http://www.pbs.org/kratts/world/eurasia/leopard/index.html

Notes (if any) by Peter Kabai:
Please note: although it might be useful to read essay examples on the Internet, do not use them as your source. Copy-paste patchworks are not torelated.