Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)

[TheHyenid76]

Information regarding body mass and measurements of wild snow leopards


From 'Body measurements of free-ranging snow leopards across their range' LINK

Abstract

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  adult  females  and  adult  males,  respectively.  In  contrast to other large felids, we found little variation in body size and body mass between the sexes; adult males  were  on  average  5%  longer  and  15%  heavier  than adult females.

Important Notes from this research paper:

"Data 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."

"Similarly, individual variation in body mass and size within the sexes was rather small for the adult  snow  leopards  compared  to  e.g.  Persian  leopards  where  adult  male  weights  range  from  40 to 91 kg (Farhadinia et al. 2014). Janecka et al. (2017)  proposed  that  three  subspecies  of  snow  leopards  occur  based  on  three  genetic  clusters  (corresponding   to   Altai,   Himalayas   and   Tien   Shan, Hindu Kush and Pamir), our results indicate that  the  snow  leopards  across  these  clusters  are  similarly   sized."

"Throughout   the   snow   leopard   distribution  range,  the  main  available  prey  range  in  size  from  36  to  72  kg  (Lyngdoh  et  al.  2014),  perhaps  the  snow  leopards  are  optimally  sized  to  hunt  these  prey  in  the  steep  slopes  and  natural  selection   prevents   individuals   from   becoming   much larger or smaller."

"Snow leopards appear to be similarly sized across their   distribution   range.   This   contrasts   to   the   other    solitary-living    members    of    the    genus    Panthera (P.  pardus,  P.  tigris  and  P.  onca)  which  vary  in  size  geographically  by  up  to  two  times  (e.g. average weights of adult male leopards range from  31  kg  in  Cape  Mountains,  South  Africa  to  66   kg   in   Iran;   Sunquist   and   Sunquist   2002,   Farhadinia et al. 2014, Hunter 2015)"

[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.]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[Fig. 2. Body measurements of snow leopards, A: shoulder height measured from the heel of the front paw to top of the shoulder blade B: body length measured from the tip of the nose to base of the tail, and C:tail length measured from base of the tail to the tip of the last caudal vertebra.]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[Table 1. Body measurements of adult snow leopards sampled in four mountain ranges across the snow leopard distribution range. Values are given as mean±SD (n).]

*This image is copyright of its original author

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