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Xue Xiao Wang: Although it is dangerous, it is now or never.

Do you know snow leopard?

Maybe you haven't seen the snow leopard, but you must be familiar with its reputation.

There is a TV series on 20 10, which is novel in theme and peculiar in technique, and is popular all over the country. In the TV series, the special warfare player played by the article leads the Snow Leopard Commando to resist the Japanese invaders. With the spirit totem of Snow Leopard, they overcame all difficulties and finally defeated the Japanese army.

So, what kind of animal is a snow leopard?

First of all, snow leopard is an excellent hunter who lives in steep snow-capped mountains at high altitude. Climbing the eaves and climbing the walls is their specialty. They often jump down from cliffs three or four meters high to catch prey. Even more exaggerated, a snow leopard once jumped over a cliff with a distance of 14 meters, which was shocking.

Snow leopards lie down during the day and come out at night, and are most active in the morning and evening. Their hunting ability is very strong, and they can kill animals three times bigger than themselves, so their recipes are quite rich, such as rock sheep, goats, plateau rabbits, snow chickens and so on. Basically, all the animals on the snow-capped mountains belong to them. With the snow line rising in recent years, scientists predict that snow leopards may meet giant pandas and national treasures, so help yourself. Of course, when food is in short supply, they also eat plants.

So, what's the difference between snow leopard and other relatives? You may not believe it, but I can not only bring my own snow boots, but also tie myself with my tail.

Snow leopard is a medium-sized cat, and its body shape is similar to that of ordinary leopards. However, due to the great difference in living environment, they have different coat color and warmth keeping mechanism from other leopards, and also have the ability of snow sports that ordinary cats do not have.

Snow leopards have thicker limbs than other leopards, and their wide soles are covered with fur, so they can stand more stably between steep cliffs and help keep warm and walk in the snow. (The soles of the feet are wide, so it is not easy to get stuck in the snow)

At the same time, the snow leopard's tail is long and thick, accounting for about three-quarters of its body length, which plays a good role in maintaining balance and keeping warm.

The barometer of the plateau ecosystem directly reflects the health of the ecosystem (measuring my number is like measuring the temperature of the plateau, awesome)

China has the largest number of snow leopards in the world, and about 60% of them live in China. The number of snow leopards is also particularly important to the ecology of our country.

As the top species in the food chain of plateau ecosystem, snow leopard has the functions of controlling the number of herbivores and maintaining ecological balance. However, with the destruction of nature by people, snow leopards have been decreasing for a long time. At the most difficult time, there were only about 2,500 in the world. Subsequently, they were listed as endangered species by IUCN (World Conservation Union).

I'm on the verge of extinction, blue skinny mushrooms.

In China, snow leopards are really unlucky. In 1950s and 1980s, the population of snow leopards was greatly destroyed. The number of snow leopards in the world depends largely on what China has done.

The following are the main reasons for the decline of snow leopards:

(1) poaching: Snow leopard's fur can be used to make high-grade clothes and hats, while leopard bones are often used as tiger bones for medicine.

(2) Large-scale human activities: road construction, mining and large-scale infrastructure construction have shrunk and fragmented the territory of Snow Leopard.

(3) Pollution: With the spread of advanced modern scientific and technological products to Tibet and other places, coupled with the lack of self-awareness of environmental protection, the environment has been seriously affected.

(4) Climate: Climate warming causes the snow line to move up and the habitat to decrease.

Fortunately, even if human moves, it also improves the situation of snow leopard.

In 1980s, China began to protect snow leopards, and 1989 listed them as national first-class protected animals, so the number of snow leopards recovered to some extent.

In 2003, the number of snow leopards in the world was estimated to be 4080 ~ 6500.

In 20 10, the number of snow leopards in the world is estimated to be 4500 ~ 7500.

In 20 13 years, the number of snow leopards in the world is estimated to be 3920 ~ 6390.

It can be seen that the number of snow leopards has doubled in several decades, so IUCN reduced the snow leopards from endangered species to vulnerable species.

They like to bite their tails.

Because of the special habits of snow leopards, it is difficult to observe them in the wild. In addition, they are extremely fierce in the wild, so I'm afraid there is only one choice, that is, to see for yourself.

Their big tails, which account for three-quarters of their body length, have become their favorite toys. If you see them in the zoo, they often spoil with their furry tails. They are really cute.

When they were young, they were cute, but they could only suck, not raise.

The little snow leopard weighed only 300-700g at birth, its body length was about 24cm, its tail length was16-18cm, its body was pale rose purple, and it cried like a pig, which made people fondle it.

In about 8 days, they will open their eyes. 10 days later, the little ones will start to learn to crawl. Before leaving their mother, the little snow leopards will be taken care of carefully, and they will live alone for about 18 ~ 22 months without their mother.

Although the little snow leopard is cute, after all, people are national first-class protected animals, and we can only hug in the zoo at most.

Conclusion:

In recent years, the population of snow leopards has rebounded, but it is undeniable that their survival pressure is still great and their situation is not optimistic.

It is also a national first-class protected animal, but it is essentially different from the giant panda. Animals like giant pandas can live well even in zoos, but natural hunters like snow leopards can't be kept in narrow spaces all the time. Snow leopard bites its tail and looks cute. Actually, wild snow leopards don't have this habit. Scientists believe that it may be the depressed atmosphere in the zoo that makes them have this habit.

The best way to protect them is to protect their living environment and let them continue the lifestyle of their ancestors galloping in the snowy area.