Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Uncia uncia

I was just able to photograph this absolutely gorgeous, endangered/threatened Snow Leopard (at the Calgary Zoo) in between the bars from a distance. Just a slight blur at left and right. There is a double fence around their enclosure, so you can't get up close and actually put your camera lens in between the bars. Just love those beautiful eyes. "Snow leopards live between 3,000 and 5,500 metres (9,800 and 18,000 ft) above sea level in the rocky mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. Their secretive nature means that their exact numbers are unknown, but it has been estimated that between 3,500 and 7,000 snow leopards exist in the wild and between 600 and 700 in zoos worldwide." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_leopard

This is one of two Snow Leopards at the Calgary Zoo. Though it looks as if it might be roaring, "It cannot roar, despite possessing an incomplete ossification of the hyoid bone, which was previously thought to be essential for allowing the big cats to roar. However, new studies show that the ability to roar is due to other morphological features, especially of the larynx, which are absent in the snow leopard." From Wikipedia. "The total wild population of the snow leopard is estimated at between 4,000 and 7,500 individuals. In 1972, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, (IUCN) placed the snow leopard on its Red List of Threatened Species as "Endangered," the same classification given the panda and the tiger.....There are numerous agencies working to conserve the snow leopard and its threatened mountain ecosystems." From Wikipedia. There are also 600-700 snow leopards in zoos around the world

The sign by the enclosure at the Zoo says: "Our Eurasian Snow Leopards are spending a few months in the Cougar exhibit at Canadian Wilds while their home is being re-furbished." "The Snow Leopard, sometimes known as the Ounce, is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of central and southern Asia. Well known for its beautiful fur, the Snow Leopard has a whitish-tan coat with ringed spots of dark, ashy-brown and rosettes of black . The fur turns white in the winter. Its tail is heavy with fur and the bottom of its paws are covered with fur for protection against snow and cold. The life span of a Snow Leopard is normally 15-18 years, but in captivity they can live up to 20 years. During the 1960s, the Snow Leopard's total population went down to 1,000 animals, but has since recovered slightly." From Wikipedia. The Conservation Status of these magnificent creatures is "Endangered."