Snow leopard

The ghost of the mountains

The snow leopard lives high in Uzbekistan's mountains — the Hisor and Ugam-Chatkal ranges. It moves so secretly that people call it the 'ghost of the mountains'. It has a very long, fluffy tail — in the cold it wraps it around its nose like a scarf! A snow leopard can leap 15 metres — the length of three cars.

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives in the mountains of Central and South Asia at 3,000–5,000 m across 12 countries. In Uzbekistan it is found in the Western Tian Shan (Ugam-Chatkal) and the Hisor range, and is listed in the national Red Book. Short legs, huge paws (natural snowshoes) and a tail longer than its body (balance and warmth) adapt it to high mountains. Unlike other big cats, it cannot roar. Only 4,000–6,500 remain in the wild; the main threats are poaching and loss of prey. In Uzbekistan it is monitored with camera traps.

Fun facts

• Snow leopards can't roar — they only hiss and 'chirp'.
• Its tail is almost as long as its body — 1 metre! It balances with it and wraps up in it to sleep.
• Its paws are natural snowshoes — it doesn't sink into snow.
• In Uzbekistan, snow leopards have been caught on camera traps more and more since 2020 — a good sign!