Kingdom:
Animalia
Characteristics that place it here:
- specialized tissues,
- ingest and digest food in internal cavity,
- heterotrophs,
- multicellular.
Phylum: Chordata
Characteristics that place it here:
- has notochord, has endoskeleton,
- complete digestive system,
- vertebrae or backbone,
- brain.
Class: Mammalia
Characteristics that place it here:
- has hair,
- produces milk through mammary glands,
- has three middle ear bones.
Order: Carnivora
Characteristics that place it here:
- carnassal pair of teeth,
- meat eaters,
- simple stomach.
Family: Felidae
Characteristics that place it here:
- specialized hunters,
- have a short rostrum,
- retractable claws.
Genus and Species: Uncia Uncia
Characteristics that place it here:
- spotted fur,
- fur color ranges from light gray to smoke gray, with
white on belly,
- tails are very long,
- large and furry paws,
- avid hunters,
- live in mountain steppes and in forests at high
altitude.
Fun Facts
- Best cat jumper of all cats.
- Can jump onto a rock 45 to 55 ft.
away.
- Can drop down 65 ft. without getting
injured.
- Can see 6 times better then
humans.
- It does not roar or growl. It purrs.
- It has never been know to attack a
human.
- The snow leopard is the only animal
that’s Latin name is two of the same words.
- The snow leopard actually does not
live in snow all year round – it spends about six months
"vacationing" in the warmer foothills.
- During summer, the snow leopard’s
coat changes from white to a dull brownish-gray color.
- Scientists use sophisticated radio
technology and global positioning systems to study the snow leopard in the
wild.
- Because of its rarity the snow
leopard is one of the least researched creatures in the world.
- Snow leopard cubs live with their
mother for ten months before striking out on their own.
- The snow leopards’ teeth are over
four inches long!
References:
Poem: Haiku:
A swift snow leopard
Leaping, alive with movement,
Then curled up, asleep.
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