Where Do Snow Leopards Live?

“As an inhabitant of the high mountains of Central Asia – the Altai, Tian Shan, Kun Lun, Paxmir, Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalayas – the snow leopard lives at the roof of the world where its territory encompasses a vast landscape of more than 1.2 million square miles and includes the twelve countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekitstan.”

“In the Himalayas, the snow leopard is found about 10,000 feet and upward to 18,300 feet when crossing high passes, while in Mongolia it may range as low as 3,000 feet. Typical elevations for the big cat on the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau are above 14,000 feet. There among the rocky and boulder-strewn landsape that provides perfect cover for hunting, the snow leopard is at home.”

Excerpts – Shavaun Mara Kidd and Bjorn Persson, Searching for the Snow Leopard, Guardian of the High Mountains, (New York: Arcade Publishing, 2020), 9-10.