Fig 1 - uploaded by Shannon Kachel
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Map of the snow leopard distribution range (shaded grey) and the locations of the study areas (mountain ranges in red): Pamir -Hindu Kush; Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan and Chitral Gol, Pakistan, Tien Shan; Sarychat, Kyrgyzstan, Himalayas; Langu valley, Nepal and Kanchenjunga Nepal, Altai; Tost Mountains, Mongolia.
Source publication
We provide body measurements of snow leopards collected from 55 individuals sampled in five of the major mountain ranges within the species distribution range; the Altai, Hindu Kush, Himalayas, Pamirs and Tien Shan mountains. Snow leopards appear to be similarly sized across their distribution range with mean body masses of 36 kg and 42 kg for adul...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... were collected from 47 snow leopards in the Pamirs (Afghanistan; n=7), Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan; n=7), Hindu Kush (Pakistan; n=1), and the Altai (Mongolia; n=32) in 2006-2019 (Fig 1). Four of the snow leopards in Afghanistan were measured during captures, the remaining three were found dead during field work. ...
Citations
... Snow leopards have a relatively stocky and low-profile body. As adults, snow leopards commonly measure between 100 and 120 cm from nose to tail and have an average shoulder height of about 60 cm ( Johansson et al., 2022a). Their comparatively short, muscular legs bring their body, and thus center of gravity, close to the ground, which is likely to facilitate movement in steep terrain. ...
... Compared to other large felids, which are generally sexually dimorphic in size (Sunquist and Sunquist, 2002), there is generally less difference between the weights of adult (>3 years old) male (mean 42 AE 4 (SD) kg) and female snow leopards (mean 36 AE 3 (SD) kg) ( Johansson et al., 2022a). Subadults, or cats 2-3 years old, are of course smaller than adults, weighing between 24 and 39 kg ( Johansson et al., 2022a). ...
... Compared to other large felids, which are generally sexually dimorphic in size (Sunquist and Sunquist, 2002), there is generally less difference between the weights of adult (>3 years old) male (mean 42 AE 4 (SD) kg) and female snow leopards (mean 36 AE 3 (SD) kg) ( Johansson et al., 2022a). Subadults, or cats 2-3 years old, are of course smaller than adults, weighing between 24 and 39 kg ( Johansson et al., 2022a). In captivity where they are not food-limited, snow leopards can perhaps reach up to 75 kg (Hemmer, 1972), though this is most likely overweight individuals; the largest reported wild snow leopard was an adult male that weighed a respectable 54 kg ( Johansson et al., 2022a). ...
... Throughout their range, snow leopards primary prey on wild sheep and goats, including bharal (Pseudois nayaur), Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) and argali (Ovis ammon) (Lyngdoh et al. 2014, Mallon, Harris andWegge 2016). These prey species weigh between 30 and 180 kg (Wilson and Mittermeier 2011), while the average weight for male and female snow leopards is 42 and 36 kg, respectively (Johansson et al. 2022). This indicates that snow leopards differ from other large solitary felids that prefer to hunt prey similar in size or smaller than themselves (Hayward et al. 2006a, Hayward et al. 2006b, Hayward et al. 2012. ...
The hunting behaviours of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) are poorly understood. In this note, we describe the successful hunt of an adult male ibex (Capra sibirica) by a known male snow leopard. The hunt started in a mountain slope close to three large boulders and progressed downhill for 115 m until it concluded at the bottom of a drainage. By comparing the habitat where the ibex was killed to the kill sites of 158 ibex and 17 argali (Ovis ammon) that were killed by GPS-collared snow leopards, we demonstrate that the majority (62%) of these were kills occurred in drainages. We propose that in successful hunts, snow leopards commonly ambush from above, causing prey individuals to typically flee downhill. Thereby the prey maintain their momentum and it is not until they are slowed down upon reaching the bottom of the drainage that the snow leopards are able to subdue them.
