Snow leopards are mysterious and beautiful creatures. Here are five facts about them:

5. An estimated population is exactly that – estimated. It is very rare you would ever see a snow leopard in the wild. For one, they mainly live in the Himalayan Mountains and countries like China and Russia. Their coat helps them camouflage with their snowy environment, so it isn’t often you’ll come across one.

4. Snow Leopards are very agile. Their short forelegs and long hindlegs keep them balanced on their steep cliffs that they like to climb on. They are some of the acrobats of the animal kingdom.

3. Snow Leopards are more closely related to tigers than leopards, despite their name. Their DNA is very similar to that of a tiger’s.

2. They can jump very far. They are so good at jumping that they can leap 9 feet into the air. That’s six times their body length!

1. Humans are a huge threat to them. They are not only hunted for their coats, but have been killed while trying to make a meal out of someone’s livestock.  Thanks to that there are very few in the wild. In 2017 they were released from the endangered list, but are still being watched. Since there are so few left in the wild, these animals could very easily become extinct…