Snow leopards live in the mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and possibly also Myanmar (Burma). Their range covers 1.2 to 1.6 million km² at elevations of 3,000 to over 5,000 m (10,000 – 17,000 feet) in the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, but as low as 600 m (2,000 feet) in Russia and Mongolia. This equals an area of 463,000 – 618,000 square miles, nearly equivalent to the nations of France, Germany, Italy and Spain combined. Up to a third of the snow leopard’s range falls along international borders, some of which are politically sensitive, complicating transboundary conservation initiatives. In fact, there have been several wars over the last 50 years, along with low-intensity factional or international conflicts that continue today in countries like Afghanistan. See the country pages of this website for the Snow Leopard Conservancy’s program areas.