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Манул
Whiskers, paws and tail:
how to recognize a snow leopard
The snow leopard, the owner of the mountains, is extremely secretive. To see him in the wild is a great success. Today we will tell you how to accurately recognize this animal — let’s talk about how it looks, about its physique and color features, and also look into the eyes of a snow leopard.
Structural features
The ancestors of the snow leopard settled in the mountains at a time when the climate here was not so harsh. But conditions have changed, and the species has had to adapt. Evolution in the highlands has left a special imprint on the anatomy of this animal. The snow leopard has adapted perfectly to the difficult, extreme conditions of life and hunting.
To begin with — general information about the size of the animal:
the body weight of a male can reach 55 kilograms, the weight of a female is 40;
height approximately 60 cm;
the length of the body, excluding the tail, is up to 130 cm, and the tail is up to 105 cm.
The snow leopard is a squat animal with a long and flexible body. Together with the tail, the body length can exceed 2 meters. The front paws are shorter, the hind legs are longer. The length of the tail is more than three quarters of the length of the body. This structure helps the snow leopard to move quickly and deftly in rocky terrain, and to hunt successfully. Powerful paws carry the beast forward, and the tail helps to maintain balance on the rocks, where the snow leopard overtakes its prey. The claws help to hold her down.
The snow leopard’s small head is crowned with short rounded ears. In winter, when the leopard warms up to the frosts, they are practically hidden in thick fur.
An adult leopard has 30 teeth in its mouth, including two sharp canines on its upper jaw. The tongue of the beast is long and mobile, covered with a hard epithelium — it helps to separate the meat of prey from bones, and also serves as a kind of comb during washing.
To begin with — general information about the size of the animal:
the body weight of a male can reach 55 kilograms, the weight of a female is 40;
height approximately 60 cm;
the length of the body, excluding the tail, is up to 130 cm, and the tail is up to 105 cm.
The snow leopard is a squat animal with a long and flexible body. Together with the tail, the body length can exceed 2 meters. The front paws are shorter, the hind legs are longer. The length of the tail is more than three quarters of the length of the body. This structure helps the snow leopard to move quickly and deftly in rocky terrain, and to hunt successfully. Powerful paws carry the beast forward, and the tail helps to maintain balance on the rocks, where the snow leopard overtakes its prey. The claws help to hold her down.
The snow leopard’s small head is crowned with short rounded ears. In winter, when the leopard warms up to the frosts, they are practically hidden in thick fur.
An adult leopard has 30 teeth in its mouth, including two sharp canines on its upper jaw. The tongue of the beast is long and mobile, covered with a hard epithelium — it helps to separate the meat of prey from bones, and also serves as a kind of comb during washing.
Wool and color
The luxurious thick fur of the snow leopard is not for beauty: it helps these big cats survive the harsh winter frosts. The fur of the snow leopard is extremely thick and dense.
The color of the snow leopard is especially noteworthy. The general background of the color is not white, but rather gray, with a brownish tinge. The fur helps the beast blend into the rocks. Some individuals even have yellowish shades of color. In addition to this general "background", each leopard is decorated with a unique pattern, like fingerprints. The pattern is made up of rosettes, rings, specks, dots, and even stripes. These marks are duplicated on the skin as well, with a patch of dark skin located under each socket.
The unique combination of patterns on the wool helps scientists distinguish between individuals. It is not always possible to recognize an animal by sight, since the faces of snow leopards are very similar to each other, at least from the human point of view. But unique patterns are another matter: zoologists put especially noticeable spots and ornaments in a special file, which will later help to understand who exactly caught the eye of specialists or was caught by the sharp eye of the camera trap lens.
Identifying an individual will help you learn more about the life of a particular snow leopard and about the species as a whole.
The color of the snow leopard is especially noteworthy. The general background of the color is not white, but rather gray, with a brownish tinge. The fur helps the beast blend into the rocks. Some individuals even have yellowish shades of color. In addition to this general "background", each leopard is decorated with a unique pattern, like fingerprints. The pattern is made up of rosettes, rings, specks, dots, and even stripes. These marks are duplicated on the skin as well, with a patch of dark skin located under each socket.
The unique combination of patterns on the wool helps scientists distinguish between individuals. It is not always possible to recognize an animal by sight, since the faces of snow leopards are very similar to each other, at least from the human point of view. But unique patterns are another matter: zoologists put especially noticeable spots and ornaments in a special file, which will later help to understand who exactly caught the eye of specialists or was caught by the sharp eye of the camera trap lens.
Identifying an individual will help you learn more about the life of a particular snow leopard and about the species as a whole.
The Black Leopard
Sometimes leopards give birth to an unusual kitten — it is much darker than others, but otherwise it does not differ at all from its fellows. This is not a hybrid with another species — it is a melanist, an individual with a darker color than its relatives. Melanism is one of the variants of the norm, it occurs in many other animal species.
Eyes
The eyes of the iris, like those of other cats, are large, with a round pupil. The color depends on the lighting and changes with it, but remains in the same palette — green or pale green, with a grayish tint. A leopard with blue eyes is not found in nature, and photos of an animal with such eyes are the result of color correction.
The peak daily activity of the snow leopard occurs at dusk, and therefore the animal needed to adapt to life and hunting in low-light conditions. The anatomy of the snow leopard’s eyes should be discussed separately.
In semi-darkness, leopards can see even better than in bright daylight. The whole secret lies in the built-in night vision device, the role of which is played by the tapetum. Tapetum is a special layer of the vascular membrane of the eye, its function is to reflect light. Due to the presence of these cages, cats can see perfectly in the semi-darkness.
In semi-darkness, leopards can see even better than in bright daylight. The whole secret lies in the built-in night vision device, the role of which is played by the tapetum. Tapetum is a special layer of the vascular membrane of the eye, its function is to reflect light. Due to the presence of these cages, cats can see perfectly in the semi-darkness.