Ana's Snow leopard: A walkaround by kikimalou

Like some of you, I' the proud owner of the fantastic snow leopard model made by Ana. Until now I didn't find enough time to share a few pics with you . At last, here is my tribute to Ana's art  

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a moderately large cat native to the mountainous areas of central Asia, with the majority of snow leopards located in the Tibetan region of China. it is generally found at elevations between 3,000 to 4,500 metres in steep terrain broken by cliffs, ridges, gullies and rocky outcrops.

The snow leopard is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List.

It is a white to smokey-grey colour, with yellow tinged fur and patterned dark-grey to black rosettes and spots. The snow leopard has many adaptations for its cold habitat; long body hair and thick, woolly belly fur, large paws and a well-developed chest and enlarged nasal cavity that warms the cold air as it is breathed in. The long, thick tail is almost a metre in length and is used for balance and as added insulation when wrapped around the body and face at rest. The short forelimbs and long hind limbs enable this leopard to be particularly agile in its steep and rugged habitat. Unusually among cats, their eyes are pale green or grey in colour.

It can kill animals more than three to four times his own weight, such as the bharal, Himalayan tahr, markhor and argali, but will readily take much smaller prey, such as hares and birds. It is capable of killing most animals in its range with the probable exception of the adult male yak. Unusually among cats, snow leopard also eat a significant amount of vegetation, including grass and twigs.