The snow leopard is one of the thirty-six species of the wild cats (felines) in the world. Snow leopards are known by other names including: ounce, ghost of the mountains, snow cat, and mountain ghost. They are mostly found in rocky areas, high woods, alpine mountains, and mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Altai, and Hindu Kush. In warmer months, snow leopards are found at elevations as high as 13,000 feet and when winter arrives snow leopards go down to elevations as low as 6,000 feet. An interesting fact about snow leopards is that their dens are usually found in rocky caverns and crevices. Snow leopards are found on the continent of Asia. And in countries such as: China, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The snow leopard is an endangered species. Currently there are fewer than 10,000 snow leopards living in the wild. One of the main reasons snow leopards are an endangered species is that they are poached by hunters for their long thick fur. As the human population of China, Mongolia, and Russia increase, the snow leopard's habitat is shrinking. Snow leopards survive by killing and eating wild blue sheep, wild boars, gazelles, hares, markhor, ibex, marmots, mice, and deer. In order to survive the snow leopard has to make a large kill every ten to fifteen days. Because its prey population is shrinking, snow leopards are having a hard time getting the necessary food to survive.