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Leopard
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
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Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
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The unexpected discovery that a snow leopard had managed to travel across such a vast open expanse precipitated a ... In Langu, subadult snow leopards weighing 20 kilograms killed adult male bharal weighing more than 55 kilograms, ...
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=IF8n...ed&f=false
A similar survey must be conducted in Mongolia before the size of the snow leopard population can be estimated with any degree of ... The male snow leopard weighed 37.5 kg , and he would therefore 36 Schaller , Tserendeleg and Amarsanaa
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=CUhI...AF6BAgDEAM
https://fb.watch/a4cLhxsqjF/
Snow leopard caught crossing a suspension bridge in Mustang, nepal.
Here is a Snow Leopard with a Woolly Flying Squirrel kill.
 *This image is copyright of its original author source: Pal, Ranjana, Tapajit Bhattacharya, and S. Sathyakumar. "Woolly Flying Squirrel Eupetaurus cinereus: A New Addition to the Diet of Snow Leopard Panthera uncia." Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS) 117 (2020). 
Estimated 200-250kg adult yak killed by a snow leopard.
 *This image is copyright of its original author The kill was visited by at least 2 different snow leopards, one of them being a large male.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Adding to the rich predation data posted here:
Snow leopard predation in a livestock dominated landscape in Mongolia Highlights •Snow leopards chose wild ungulates even in landscapes dominated by livestock. •Snow leopards appeared to kill livestock opportunistically. •Adult males killed more livestock and were more vulnerable to retaliatory killing. •Avoiding rugged pastures and minimizing stragglers will reduce livestock losses. •Snow leopards removed much more prey than previous estimates of kill rates suggest. Abstract Livestock predation is an important cause of endangerment of the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) across its range. Yet, detailed information on individual and spatio-temporal variation in predation patterns of snow leopards and their kill rates of livestock and wild ungulates are lacking. We collared 19 snow leopards in the Tost Mountains, Mongolia, and searched clusters of GPS positions to identify prey remains and estimate kill rate and prey choice. Snow leopards killed, on average, one ungulate every 8 days, which included more wild prey (73%) than livestock (27%), despite livestock abundance being at least one order of magnitude higher. Predation on herded livestock occurred mainly on stragglers and in rugged areas where animals are out of sight of herders. The two wild ungulates, ibex (Capra ibex) and argali (Ovis ammon), were killed in proportion to their relative abundance. Predation patterns changed with spatial (wild ungulates) and seasonal (livestock) changes in prey abundance. Adult male snow leopards killed larger prey and 2–6 times more livestock compared to females and young males. Kill rates were considerably higher than previous scat-based estimates, and kill rates of females were higher than kill rates of males. We suggest that (i) snow leopards prey largely on wild ungulates and kill livestock opportunistically, (ii) retaliatory killing by livestock herders is likely to cause greater mortality of adult male snow leopards compared to females and young males, and (iii) total off-take of prey by a snow leopard population is likely to be much higher than previous estimates suggest.
What is a Snow Leopard? Taxonomy, Morphology, and Phylogeny
Abstract The snow leopard is the smallest member of the genus Panthera and is the sister species to the tiger (Panthera tigris). It has a poor fossil record, although a recent discovery in Tibet suggests this lineage could be at least 4 million years old. The snow leopard's taxonomic history, molecular phylogeny, and potential geographical variation are reviewed. It is adapted to montane habitats, where it hunts small to medium-sized mammals. Characteristics such as pelage coloration and markings, fur length and density, skull and tooth morphology, limb proportions, and tail morphology are reviewed as adaptations to living at high elevations with low oxygen levels and temperatures, and hunting and killing montane ungulates.
Guess what? Nobody knows how many snow leopards there are
Due to their elusive nature, snow leopards are extremely difficult to count. Despite great efforts and technological advances, we still don't have reliable population numbers. Until that changes, these endangered cats are best served by a very conservative approach. Earlier this month, various media outlets reported that snow leopards ‘may be more common than thought’. The articles were quoting a recently published book (1) on these endangered cats, in which a group of authors make the claim that the snow leopard population could be much higher than prevailing estimates suggest. We wish this were the case. Unfortunately, there is no reliable scientific evidence for this claim, and it is misleading and potentially damaging to conservation efforts. Snow leopards live across a vast and often inaccessible mountain territory. Some individual cats use home ranges that can be several hundred square kilometers large, while others are reported to use just a few dozen square kilometers. These factors make it extremely challenging to reliably count and monitor snow leopard populations. In fact, only about 1.5% of the total snow leopard range has been surveyed with reliable, internationally accepted methods such as intensive camera studies or genetic analysis of feces, and available population estimates vary accordingly. Currently, most experts assume a number between 3920 and 7500 – conscious of the fact that it’s essentially a guesstimate. And yet, authors of this recent book chapter present new figures of up to 8,745 cats – and they claim that those numbers represent just ’44% of their range’; of course suggesting that the number across the total range may actually be significantly higher still. How is that possible, when a mere 1.5% of the total range surveyed has been surveyed using acceptable abundance estimation methods? To arrive at these numbers, the authors have summed up regional estimates from various, in some cases unspecified sources – many of them dating back to an assessment that was done in 2008. Most of these regional estimates are themselves not much more than educated guesses – as even the authors themselves say. For instance, ‘habitat quality’ is used as one of the indicators behind the estimate for Pakistan’s Central Karakoram area, while for certain parts of China, ‘questionnaires’ and ‘informed estimates’ provide the baseline data, according to the authors. Other regional estimates are derived from so-called sign surveys – studies where researchers count snow leopard scat or other signs such as scrape marks within a relatively small area, and then extrapolate population numbers in a larger landscape from these findings. While these studies can be valuable to determine if a species uses a certain area, scientists have long agreed that they are not very useful to estimate population numbers. The Snow Leopard Network has, in fact, long rejected studies or proposals that try to estimate snow leopard abundance from their signs. In contrast, only a very small fraction of the studies used to arrive at this new, significantly higher global estimate is based on scientifically sound methods such as camera trapping or genetic analysis of feces. In short, just like previous numbers, these population figures are once again simply guesstimates – and there is nothing in them that would suggest they’d be any more accurate than the prevailing ones. In fact, there is a possibility that the prevailing estimates may just as likely be too high. Recent, scientifically population surveys based on camera trapping and fecal genetics in Pakistan and Nepal, for instance, suggest that the actual snow leopard populations in these countries may be significantly lower than we thought. It would be premature to take these results as evidence of a much lower population overall, but they’re certainly cause for concern. What about the ‘44% of the cats’ range’? By claiming that their population estimate of up to 8,745 snow leopards is for less than half of their global habitat, the authors imply that the real numbers may in fact be up to twice as high. This is highly misleading. In fact, the area covered by the authors’ estimate is larger than all of the confirmed and probable snow leopard habitat combined – in other words, it contains all the areas we know or strongly suspect the cats occur in. The remaining 56% of the range in their calculation represents what is referred to as ‘possible’ snow leopard habitat – areas that have all the ecological features the cats need, but haven’t been confirmed to actually have any snow leopards. Some of these areas almost certainly do, and others probably don’t. Even if the estimates for the 44% of the range the authors present were scientifically convincing (which they are not), it wouldn’t do to simply assume that these other, largely unexplored areas will all have roughly the same average snow leopard densities as some of the more well-studied habitats. We welcome any attempts to come up with a more accurate, scientifically valid estimate of the world’s snow leopard population – but they have to follow the standards and best practices of science. Otherwise, results can be misleading and even detrimental to the species, as they will lead to a sense of complacency and a weakened resolve to protect this endangered cat – while in reality its situation remains precarious. Let’s not engage in numbers games, but instead make every effort to scale up research and conservation efforts for this endangered cat!  *This image is copyright of its original author
Snow Leopard Prey and Diet
Abstract A fairly wide range of species are reportedly consumed by the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), but the diet mainly consists of blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), together with other species of mountain ungulates and domestic livestock, supplemented by medium-sized and small mammals and birds, and even invertebrates. Vegetation occurs more frequently in scats than with any other large cat species. Fecal DNA analysis has shown that visual identification of snow leopard scats is unreliable, with error rates of up to 50%. This finding may raise doubts about the reliability of some results in earlier published reports. A few recent studies have used DNA to confirm scat identity.
Chapter 5 - Livestock Predation by Snow Leopards: Conflicts and the Search for Solutions
Abstract Retaliatory killing of snow leopards in response to predation on livestock is a significant factor in their endangerment, and a livelihood challenge for local communities. We review the ecological and anthropogenic causes of livestock predation. We show that this conservation conflict has multiple dimensions, including the reality of livestock damage and the perceptions and psyche of affected people. In this light, we discuss the current efforts to manage conflicts over livestock predation, and point out areas for improvement. We advocate a rejection of the term “human-snow leopard conflict” and its variants. We suggest that this conservation conflict is best viewed as a shared problem that must be addressed through a multipronged approach based on information sharing and respectful dialogue with local communities.
Probably one of the most impressive predation feats we have seen in big cats: a 52kg male snow leopard that killed a ten year old adult male domestic bactrian camel.
“Recently, a herder found one of her camels dead and suspected that a snow leopard, known to us as M15, had killed it. M15 was sitting near the top of a rock near the dead camel. The herder is part of my livestock insurance community and she called me. That evening I went to that place and set up a trap camera at 6:00 pm. I knew M15 was still around. The camera photographed him on the kill over the next few days.” (M15 is the largest snow leopard we have ever collared, weighing 52 kg.)“It appeared that the snow leopard had killed the camel. The camel was very big, a ten-year-old male weighing more than 400 kg. I talked to the herder, who is part of the community-managed livestock insurance program we run. She expressed how upset she was that the camel was dead. She said, “Maybe I will kill this snow leopard! If I knew this would have happened, I would have sold the camel.” She said that the camel was worth 2 million tugrik.” (about $620 USD)  *This image is copyright of its original author Source: https://snowleopard.org/the-reality-of-living-with-snow-leopards/
Predation, conflict, taxonomy, phylogeny, morphology, diet, counting… quality information @Acinonyx sp.
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