Museum Notebook: Snow leopard features in Teeth, Talons and Taxidermy exhibition

A taxidermied snow leopard, received as a skin and mounted by Museum curator George Shepherd in 1940. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 1940.32

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia uncioides) lives in the very cold and harsh climate of the high mountains of Central Asia. Its closest relative is the tiger, but its resemblance to the leopard is the source of its name.

Snow leopards are very well adapted to their cold homes. Their broad skulls have evolved to accommodate the large nasal cavities required to capture enough oxygen at high altitudes.

Their distinctive, thick coats of creamy-white fur with mottled black and grey rosettes keep them warm while allowing them to blend in with the surrounding rocks. The paws are broad to provide good footing on the steep rocks, and are coated in thick fur to act as snowshoes and help disperse weight.

The snow leopard can grow to 1.5 metres in length and the tail can reach nearly a metre long. Their powerful bodies provide them with the agility needed to scale steep mountainous areas, and their sturdy hind legs enable them to jump up to six times the length of their body. The signature long tail helps with balance and stability.

The distinctive tail is nearly as long as the body and assists with stability and balance, as well as warmth. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 1940.32 tail

These big cats are active at dawn and dusk when they hunt wild sheep and goats, and smaller creatures including marmots, pikas and hares. An adult will hunt every 10 to 15 days, and will spend up to a week eating their catch before moving on.

Snow leopards are officially listed as a vulnerable species. They have one predator - humans.

Growing human settlements have claimed more and more land to build towns and accommodate farms, encroaching on the snow leopard's natural habitat.

Farming has also damaged the land and diminished the vegetation that wild sheep and goats feed on, reducing the number of the snow leopard's prey.

Humans are also fond of hunting wild goat and sheep for food and trophies. The competition for food has forced the snow leopard closer to the farms and they will prey on domestic livestock including sheep, goats, horses and yak calves.

This often leads to revenge killings and deliberate hunting down of snow leopard populations to reduce the threat to livestock.

Snow leopards' distinctive coats are prized for their exotic beauty and warmth, adding more incentive to capture and kill the creature for sale and use as clothing or furnishings.

The bones, skin and organs of large cats are also prized ingredients for some traditional medicines. Their overall usefulness fetches a high price on illegal markets and makes them attractive targets for those needing extra money.

Despite this ill treatment, the snow leopard remains one of the least aggressive large cats when it comes into contact with humans. When cornered, it will often not even attempt to fight, making it an easy target.

The museum holds one taxidermied specimen of a snow leopard, donated as a skin to the Wanganui Public Museum in 1940 and mounted by curator George Shepherd.

To learn more about taxidermy, animals and human impacts on animal environments, be sure to visit the exhibition Teeth, Talons and Taxidermy, opening on Saturday, July 4.

* Sandi Black is the Archivist at Whanganui Regional Museum.