Snow Leopards are a gorgeous big cat, as you can see from the picture above. But sadly, Snow Leopards are Vulnerable to extinction. These animals are classed as 'Vulnerable', which is one status away from being labelled as 'Endangered.' Tragically, these big cats could become endangered in the near future. Currently, there are only between 4,080 and 6,590 Snow Leopards remaining in the wild today. This is not the only thing which threatens this big cats survival. What also threatens these animals survival is that up to 450 Snow Leopards are killed each year by poachers, this has been one of the main causes of the Snow Leopards decline.
What Are The Threats To The Snow Leopard?
There are many threats facing the Snow Leopard. Probably the biggest threat to the Snow Leopard, is: poaching. Poaching is when animals are killed, and their body parts are used and sold for profit. For example, if poachers kill a Snow leopard, then they will use things like that Snow Leopards fur and sell that fur off to make money. Although wildlife conservationists are aware that animals like Snow Leopards are the victim of poaching, it is hard for wildlife conservationists to know the full picture of the poaching of these animals, because of the secretive and illegal nature of the poaching. But, we do know some things about this secretive business.
We do know that this poaching results in as many as 450 Snow Leopards being killed annually. If as many as 450 Snow Leopards are killed each year; then there is at least one Snow Leopard being killed somewhere in the world, every single day. The Snow Leopard Trust found that at least one Snow leopard was being killed every day, between 2008 and 2016. More worryingly, the Snow Leopard Trust believes that the poaching of Snow leopards is worse than we know. The findings from the Snow Leopard Trust, was also supported by the wildlife charity the WWF.
Despite poaching being a massive problem for these animals; this poaching is done illegally. The illegal poaching and wildlife trafficking of this animal is a major reason why they are being killed, and why they are therefore, declining in numbers. But poaching isn't the only reason that these animals are killed: they are also killed when they come into contact with human settlements.
Other human activities also threaten the existence of the Snow Leopard. Their habitat is under threat from being destroyed because of mining. Snow Leopards live in mountainous areas of Asia and Russia, these mountainous areas are often destroyed for mining. When humans destroy these areas for mining, it in turn destroys the habitat of the Snow Leopards - which can threaten their survival. One final reason why Snow Leopards are threatened, is related to another human-led activity: climate change. Due to rising global temperatures caused by climate change, this has resulted in the Snow Leopards habitat being distributed. Rising temperatures take away their food supply.
Where Are The Snow Leopards Found?
Snow Leopards are found in the mountains of several Asian countries, and Russia. They can be found in the Asian countries of: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Mongolia, China and Bhutan.
They live in harsh, snowy climates.
Their habitat is the mountains of these countries.
How Big Are Snow Leopards?
Snow Leopards are one of the few big cats which exist in the wild. They are unique and easy to identify because of their gorgeous fur coat. They can grow up to five feet in length.
How Can You Help Snow Leopards?
You can help Snow Leopards by supporting the WWF and adopting your own Snow Leopard here. Which will in turn help to preserve these beautiful animals for the future.
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