Foraging

Snow leopard diets vary greatly depending on their location. Most of the felines hunt wild sheep and goats along cliff sides. Their foraging pattern involves them taking positions above in ravines or cliff sides and leaping onto their unsuspecting prey in an ambush. The snow leopard can leap as high as 14 meters to attack their prey. They can also take down prey 3 times their size. They are strictly carnivores that eat whatever meat they can find in their harsh habitats. The most common of these prey include the bharal (blue sheep), asiatic ibex (a large species of wild goat), and argali (another species of wild sheep). All three of these prey happen to be the most common at the areas that the snow leopards reside in. Unlike our domestic partners, these felines are opportunistic hunters and  prefer to hunt once in a while. Snow leopards hunt roughly every 8 to 10 days and feasts on that animal slowly. They usually take anywhere from 3 to 4 days to fully consume their prey. And during that time, they would guard their kill from other scavenger animals such as vultures or ravens while coming back to feast every few hours until their prey is fully consumed. Males and female snow leopards have a small difference in feasting habits as shown in a study by Johansen & co. (2015), showing that males tend to prefer domestic animals over female snow leopards. Because they are opportunistic predators, these carnivores will hunt livestock if the opportunity arises, such as goats, sheep, yaks, and even horses, although there have been few reported conflicts of snow leopards with humans. During winter times, they can hunt and prey on livestock more often because of the scarcity of wild animals.