![]() Vegetation along the alpine landscape benefits from marmot burrowing, but too many marmots would destroy Himalayan meadows. ![]() Marmot populations could quickly get out of control across this vast region spanning many countries including China, India, and Nepal. Then, whether hunting through rocky terrain or tall field grasses, they tackle the animal and usually kill it by biting its neck.Ĭonservationists regard the snow leopard as essential to ecosystem balance in the Himalayas due to how many marmots they eat. Snow leopards are known for sneaking up behind prey from the tops of cliffs until they are close enough to pounce. These powerful cats have large, wide paws for hunting easily on snow and can leap onto prey from distances up to 50 feet away. How Do Snow Leopards Hunt? The snow leopard can leap up to 50 feet to catch its prey.Īs opportunistic hunters looking for the quickest kill, snow leopards tend to attack animals requiring only a short chase to catch. Because of how long they can feed on one medium-sized animal, it might be more than a week before they need to hunt again. Rodney Jackson, an average snow leopard observed in India’s Hemis National Park ate the following animals in 12 months:Īfter killing an animal the size of a sheep or goat, snow leopards might take up to four days to finish eating it. How Much Does a Snow Leopard Eat? Cliffs are a favorite hiding place for snow leopards on the hunt.Īccording to Snow Leopard Conservancy founder Dr. Here’s a list of common animals that snow leopards eat: When prey is hard to find, snow leopards can survive for a short time on the fat stored in their very thick tails. In addition to sheep and goats, they eat cows, horses, llamas, and yaks if the animals are a manageable size for the cat to kill. They also eat hare, mice, squirrels, and vole.Īs with any wild predator searching for food, snow leopards sometimes find their way onto ranches or herding lands to prey on domestic livestock. A blue sheep can keep an individual snow leopard satisfied for up to two weeks! Nonetheless, snow leopards hunt smaller prey, and the marmot is a favorite snack. That’s probably because it gets a lot more food from killing a blue sheep than it does from a smaller animal like the marmot. Snow leopards are carnivores, but they sometimes nibble on wild grasses and other vegetation.Ī snow leopard prefers to hunt animals in the weight range of roughly 80 to 170 pounds, or up to three times its own weight. Snow leopards eat Himalayan blue sheep (bharal), argali sheep, boar, deer, and wild mountain goats (or goat-like mammals) such as ibex, markhor, and tahr. What Do Snow Leopards Eat? Snow leopards eat a diet that includes deer, goats, ibex, and sheep. Let’s examine what snow leopards eat, how they hunt, and which animals the snow leopard competes with for food in their habitat. So what do snow leopards eat in the mountains, even in harsh conditions? You might be surprised by the meals these big cats savor at elevations anywhere from 3,000-18,000 feet. ![]() ![]() In addition to being stealthy predators, they are considered one of the ten largest cats in the world. ![]() Snow leopards live mainly in the alpine and subalpine mountain regions of Central Asia and Eurasia. The snow leopard ( Panthera uncia) is a carnivorous hunter admired for its striking coat of white, yellow, or grey fur with black rosettes. ![]()
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