A Year in the Life: Fall
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Find out what wild snow leopards are doing during fall
Editor's note: This is one of a four-part series of articles about the lives of wild snow leopards at different times of year. (Read what snow leopards are doing during Winter, Spring, and Summer.)
During the fall months in most high altitude regions of Central Asia, the snows are beginning to arrive. The snow leopard’s thick winter coat, which will keep the cat warm through the freezing months ahead, is growing in.
The herds of wild sheep and goats that form a major part of the snow leopard's diet are preparing for winter too, moving to lower elevations in search of forage and better shelter. The snow leopard follows its prey down the steep mountain slopes, moving along with the herds of ibex, bharal (blue sheep), markhor, urial, argali, and other grazers.
Snow leopards are opportunistic predators, and as snows cover the landscape and prey becomes harder to find they may hunt many types of animals to survive. Their diets vary from place to place across their vast range, but may include small mammals such as rabbit, hare, marmot, and pika, and birds such as pheasant, partridge, and snowcock.
Scientists have also found that snow leopards may eat substantial quantities of grass, twigs, and other vegetation—something that is common among cats, but it seems that snow leopards eat more plant material than their feline kin. The vegetation may serve as a source of extra vitamins, aid in digestion, or help the cats eliminate parasites—no one knows for sure.
In addition to feeding herself, a mother snow leopard must hunt to feed her growing cubs. If she gave birth this year, her cubs are eating solid foods, and have begun to explore the world outside the den, following their mother along rocky crevasses and cliffs to reach a kill. Cubs born last year are learning to hunt and getting ready to live on their own.
During the fall months in most high altitude regions of Central Asia, the snows are beginning to arrive. The snow leopard’s thick winter coat, which will keep the cat warm through the freezing months ahead, is growing in.
The herds of wild sheep and goats that form a major part of the snow leopard's diet are preparing for winter too, moving to lower elevations in search of forage and better shelter. The snow leopard follows its prey down the steep mountain slopes, moving along with the herds of ibex, bharal (blue sheep), markhor, urial, argali, and other grazers.
Snow leopards are opportunistic predators, and as snows cover the landscape and prey becomes harder to find they may hunt many types of animals to survive. Their diets vary from place to place across their vast range, but may include small mammals such as rabbit, hare, marmot, and pika, and birds such as pheasant, partridge, and snowcock.
Scientists have also found that snow leopards may eat substantial quantities of grass, twigs, and other vegetation—something that is common among cats, but it seems that snow leopards eat more plant material than their feline kin. The vegetation may serve as a source of extra vitamins, aid in digestion, or help the cats eliminate parasites—no one knows for sure.
In addition to feeding herself, a mother snow leopard must hunt to feed her growing cubs. If she gave birth this year, her cubs are eating solid foods, and have begun to explore the world outside the den, following their mother along rocky crevasses and cliffs to reach a kill. Cubs born last year are learning to hunt and getting ready to live on their own.