The snow leopard is arguably the most accomplished mammalian jumper. When hunting,  they can leap horizontally a distance of up to 15 meters and 6 meters in height. It also has the most flexible spine in the animal world which can bend or stretch or shorten like rubber. When landing, they have natural dumpers in the sole of their legs and with their natural dense fur armour, it help to protect them from injury.

They have extremely long tails with up to 90% of head-to-body length which acts as a balancing organ when leaping between rocks and steep slopes. It also helps to insulate their paws and head from cold at these high altitudes when resting.

Their prey includes the ibex (sure-footed, sturdy wild goat), argali (the largest living wild sheep and is a Mongolian word for “ram”) and bharal (a wild Himalayan sheep that’s also called blue sheep referring to their bluish sheen on their coats and they are actually more closely related to goats).

The snow leopard’s range spans roughly 800,000 square miles across 12 countries in some of the world’s most rugged terrain, making it very difficult to study the species as a whole. Despite this large range, scientists estimate that there may only be 4000 to 6000 snow leopards left in the wild. Less than 2% of the species’ range has ever been sampled for abundance using reliable techniques.