Description

This beautiful cat is a white to smokey-grey colour, with yellow tinged fur and patterned dark-grey to black rosettes and spots (6). The snow leopard has many adaptations for its cold habitat; long body hair and thick, woolly belly fur, large paws and a well-developed chest and enlarged nasal cavity that warms the cold air as it is breathed in (6). The long, thick tail is almost a metre in length and is used for balance and as added insulation when wrapped around the body and face at rest (6). The short forelimbs and long hind limbs enable this leopard to be particularly agile in its steep and rugged habitat (6).