Snow leopard
Panthera uncia (Schreber, 1775)
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), also called the ounce, is a big cat in the family Felidae, subfamily Pantherinae, order Carnivora. It is a large, terrestrial and diurnal carnivore of forest and mountain habitats, with a representative adult body mass of 44.17 kg and up to 47.81 kg reported.
Quick facts about the snow leopard
Its main foods include bharal, siberian ibex, himalayan tahr, markhor, himalayan marmot, ochotona, sheep, goat and carrion. The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has a gestation period of 102 days with 2.12 young per litter and 1 litter per year.
- Weight
- 44.2 kg – 47.8 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 21 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 21.2 years
- Main food
- bharal, bos grunniens, carrion, chicken, chinese goral, chukar partridge and 21 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, mountainsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 97.9 days – 102 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.12src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 2.15 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the snow leopard
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the snow leopard live?
Not recorded
What is the snow leopard?
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a felid species in the genus Panthera. It has a thick whitish to grey fur with black spots on the head and neck, with larger rosettes on the back, flanks and bushy tail. Males are larger than the females, and both sexes have long canine teeth. Its small rounded ears, broad paws, and thick tails are adaptations for living in cold, mountainous environments.
The snow leopard is native to the mountain ranges of Asia, ranging from eastern Hindu Kush, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000–4,500 m (9,800–14,800 ft) featuring cliffs and ridges, but also lives at lower elevations in the northern part of its range. It is a solitary animal and is mostly active at dawn and twilight. It is a carnivore and actively hunts its prey, which include various ungulates and domestic livestock.
The snow leopard was long classified in the monotypic genus Uncia. Since phylogenetic studies revealed the relationships among Panthera species, it has been considered a member of that genus. Two subspecies were described based on morphological differences, but genetic differences between the two have not been confirmed. It is therefore regarded as a monotypic species. It forms a sister group with the tiger and the genetic divergence is estimated to have occurred 4.62 to 1.82 million years ago.
The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is mainly threatened by poaching and habitat destruction. It is listed in CITES Appendix I and legally protected in most countries of its range. It is widely used in heraldry and as an emblem in Central Asia and parts of North India.
From the Wikipedia article “Snow leopard” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Snow_leopard&oldid=1385002688), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the snow leopard endangered?
The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the snow leopard classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusPanthera
- SpeciesPanthera uncia (Schreber, 1775)
Synonyms Felis irbis, Felis uncia, Felis uncioides, Panthera uncia schneideri, Panthera uncia uncia, Panthera uncia uncioides, Panthera unica, Uncia uncia, Uncia uncia
Other names and names in other languages (141)
- OunceEnglish
- SneeupanterAfrikaans
- SneeuluiperdAfrikaans
- አመዳይ ነብርAmharic
- فهد ثلجيArabic
- نمر الثلوجArabic
- نمر ثلجيArabic
- نَمِرُ الثُّلُوجِArabic
- বৰফৰ বাঘAssamese
- İrbisAzerbaijani
- Qar bəbiriAzerbaijani
- ایربیسazb
- БарысBashkir
- Снежны барсBelarusian
- БарсBulgarian
- Снежен барсBulgarian
- তুষার চিতাBangla
- SahTibetan
- གསའ་གཟིགTibetan
- OñsBreton
- Loupard an erc'hBreton
- Pantera de les neusCatalan
- Lleopard de les neusCatalan
- پڵینگی بەفریCentral Kurdish
- Irbis horskýCzech
- Levhart sněžnýCzech
- sněžný levhartCzech
- Llewpard EiraWelsh
- SneleopardDanish
- SchneeleopardGerman
- हिउँ चितुवाdty
- Λεοπάρδαλη του χιονιούGreek
- NeĝleopardoEsperanto
- Pantera de la NievesSpanish
- Leopardo de las nievesSpanish
- pantera de las nievesSpanish
- LumeleopardEstonian
- Elur-panteraBasque
- Elur-lehoinabarBasque
- پلنگ برفیPersian
- LumileopardiFinnish
- OnceFrench
- Léopard des neigesFrench
- panthère de neigeFrench
- Panthère des neigesFrench
- SnäleopardNorthern Frisian
- Liopard sneachtaIrish
- Leopard-sneachdaScottish Gaelic
- OnzaGalician
- Leopardo das nevesGalician
- JaguaretetĩGuarani
- נמר השלגHebrew
- Baral heHindi
- हिम तेंदुआHindi
- हिम तेन्दुआHindi
- Snježni leopardCroatian
- Sniježni leopardCroatian
- irbiszHungarian
- hópárducHungarian
- ՁյունահովազArmenian
- UncoIdo
- ЦӀокъломIngush
- SnjóhlébarðiIcelandic
- Leopardo delle neviItalian
- ユキヒョウJapanese
- Macan tutul saljuJavanese
- Aɣilas n wedfelKabyle
- چھۆت سٕہہKashmiri
- IrbisKazakh
- Қар барысыKazakh
- ಹಿಮ ಚಿರತೆKannada
- 설표Korean
- 눈표범Korean
- 회색표범Korean
- Parsa berfînKurdish
- Lewpard an erghCornish
- ИлбирсKyrgyz
- SchnéileopardLuxembourgish
- ПерленгLezghian
- Snīga leopardsLatgalian
- Sniega leopardsLatvian
- Снежен леопардMacedonian
- ഹിമപ്പുലിMalayalam
- ИрвэсMongolian
- IrvisMongolian
- हिमबिबट्याMarathi
- Harimau bintang saljiMalay
- နှင်းကျားသစ်Burmese
- Seh-pàMin Nan Chinese
- Náshdóíłgaii łikizhígííNavajo
- SnøleopardNorwegian Bokmål
- Hiun chituwaNepali
- SneeuwpanterDutch
- SneeuwluipaardDutch
- OnçaOccitan
- Pantèra de las nèusOccitan
- ହିମ କଲରାପତ୍ରିଆ ବାଘOdia
- ФыранкOssetic
- ਬਰਫ਼ੀਲਾ ਤੇਂਦੂਆPunjabi
- Irbis śnieżnyPolish
- Pantera śnieżnaPolish
- Leopardo-das-nevesPortuguese
- Leopardul zăpezilorRomanian
- Снежный барсRussian
- Снежный леопардRussian
- Snezhniy barsRussian
- БаарысYakut
- snaw leopardScots
- Leopard snežnýSlovak
- Snežni leopardSlovenian
- Leopardi i dëborësAlbanian
- снежни леопардSerbian
- Снежни леопард - Snežni leopardSerbian
- snöleopardSwedish
- Chui-thelujiSwahili
- பனிச்சிறுத்தைTamil
- ИрбисTatar
- మంచు చిరుతTelugu
- Babri barfiTajik
- Паланги барфӣTajik
- เสือดาวหิมะThai
- Leopardong niyebeFilipino
- Kar parsıTurkish
- kar leoparıTurkish
- ИрбишTuvinian
- يىلپىزUyghur
- ІрбісUkrainian
- Барс сніговийUkrainian
- Сніговий барсUkrainian
- برفانی چیتاUrdu
- Barfani chitaUrdu
- IlvirsUzbek
- Báo tuyếtVietnamese
- ირბისიMingrelian
- שניי לעמפערטYiddish
- 草豹Chinese
- 艾葉豹Chinese
- 荷葉豹Chinese
- 雪豹Chinese
- Xue bàoChinese
- Leoparê vewreZaza
Relatives of the snow leopard
Other species in the same genus Panthera.
Lion
Panthera leo
Tiger
Panthera tigris
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Jaguar
Panthera onca
Cave lion
Panthera spelaea
Panthera gombaszogensis
Panthera gombaszoegensis
CompareSnow leopard vs LionSnow leopard vs TigerSnow leopard vs LeopardSnow leopard vs Jaguar
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the snow leopard?
The snow leopard is a mammal and a big cat in the family Felidae, order Carnivora. It is also called the ounce.
How heavy is a snow leopard?
An adult snow leopard has a representative body mass of 44.17 kg, with up to 47.81 kg reported by sources. This places it in the large size class.
What does the snow leopard eat?
The snow leopard is a carnivore. Its main foods include bharal, siberian ibex, himalayan tahr, markhor, himalayan marmot, ochotona, wild boar, sheep, goat and carrion.
What habitat does the snow leopard live in?
The snow leopard lives in forest and mountain habitats. It is terrestrial and diurnal.
Is the snow leopard endangered?
The snow leopard is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a snow leopard live?
The snow leopard has a lifespan of 21 years, with up to 21.2 years reported by sources.
How many young does a snow leopard have?
The snow leopard has 2.12 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 102 days.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/panthera-uncia
“Snow leopard (Panthera uncia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/panthera-uncia.
@misc{panthera_uncia_2026,
title = {Snow leopard (Panthera uncia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/panthera-uncia},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}