TIBETAN SNOW LEOPARD

Snow leopards are beautiful white or grey big cats that live in the mountains of Central Asia. They have thick fur that covers their feet just like snowshoes. Snow leopards have powerful legs. They can jump about 15 metres very easily.
They use their tails for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against the cold weather. Most big cats have yellow eyes, snow leopards have light green or grey eyes. They hide in the snow very well.
Snow leopards are carnivores. They weigh around 27-54 kilograms. They are about 1.5 metres tall. Snow leopards eat the blue sheep and mountain goat of Tibet and the Himalayas.
They also eat smaller animals such as rabbits and birds. Snow leopards like to live alone, 4,000-5,000 metres high on the mountains. They can’t roar like other cats of the wild. They have a soft voice. People call them ghosts of the mountains. Snow leopards are endangered.
There are only 4,000 of them left in the mountains. People kill about 400 leopards every year. Sometimes snow leopards attack domestic animals in the farms. The farmers kill leopards to protect their animals.
Some Chinese people use the tigers’ body parts to make traditional medicine. Luckily, people started to protect the snow leopards recently. Scientists put cameras on the mountains where leopards live. They try to learn more about these beautiful animals.