What is "snow leopard"

Snow \Snow\, n. [OE. snow, snaw, AS. sn[=a]w; akin to D. sneeuw, OS. & OHG. sn[=e]o, G. schnee, Icel. sn[ae]r, snj[=o]r, snaj[=a]r, Sw. sn["o], Dan. snee, Goth. snaiws, Lith. sn["e]gas, Russ. snieg', Ir. & Gael. sneachd, W. nyf, L. nix, nivis, Gr. acc. ni`fa, also AS. sn[=i]wan to snow, G. schneien, OHG. sn[=i]wan, Lith. snigti, L. ningit it snows, Gr. ni`fei, Zend snizh to snow; cf. Skr. snih to be wet or sticky. [root]172.]

1. Watery particles congealed into white or transparent crystals or flakes in the air, and falling to the earth, exhibiting a great variety of very beautiful and perfect forms.

   Note: Snow is often used to form compounds, most of which are of obvious meaning; as, snow-capped, snow-clad, snow-cold, snow-crowned, snow-crust, snow-fed, snow-haired, snowlike, snow-mantled, snow-nodding, snow-wrought, and the like.

2. Fig.: Something white like snow, as the white color (argent) in heraldry; something which falls in, or as in, flakes.

   The field of snow with eagle of black therein.
   --Chaucer.

   Red snow. See under Red.

   Snow bunting. (Zo["o]l.) See Snowbird, 1.

   Snow cock (Zo["o]l.), the snow pheasant.

   Snow flea (Zo["o]l.), a small black leaping poduran ( Achorutes nivicola) often found in winter on the snow in vast numbers.

   Snow flood, a flood from melted snow.

   Snow flower (Bot.), the fringe tree.

   Snow fly, or Snow insect (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of neuropterous insects of the genus Boreus. The male has rudimentary wings; the female is wingless. These insects sometimes appear creeping and leaping on the snow in great numbers.

   Snow gnat (Zo["o]l.), any wingless dipterous insect of the genus Chionea found running on snow in winter.

   Snow goose (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of arctic geese of the genus Chen. The common snow goose ( Chen hyperborea), common in the Western United States in winter, is white, with the tips of the wings black and legs and bill red. Called also white brant, wavey, and Texas goose. The blue, or blue-winged, snow goose ( Chen c[oe]rulescens) is varied with grayish brown and bluish gray, with the wing quills black and the head and upper part of the neck white. Called also white head, white-headed goose, and bald brant.

   Snow leopard (Zool.), the ounce.

   Snow line, lowest limit of perpetual snow. In the Alps this is at an altitude of 9,000 feet, in the Andes, at the equator, 16,000 feet.

   Snow mouse (Zo["o]l.), a European vole ( Arvicola nivalis) which inhabits the Alps and other high mountains.

   Snow pheasant (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large, handsome gallinaceous birds of the genus Tetraogallus, native of the lofty mountains of Asia. The Himalayn snow pheasant ( T. Himalayensis) in the best-known species. Called also snow cock, and snow chukor.

   Snow partridge. (Zo["o]l.) See under Partridge.

   Snow pigeon (Zo["o]l.), a pigeon ( Columba leuconota) native of the Himalaya mountains. Its back, neck, and rump are white, the top of the head and the ear coverts are black.

   Snow plant (Bot.), a fleshy parasitic herb ( Sarcodes sanguinea) growing in the coniferous forests of California. It is all of a bright red color, and is fabled to grow from the snow, through which it sometimes shoots up.

n. a large feline mammal, ''Uncia uncia'', native to mountain ranges of central Asia

n. large feline of upland central Asia having long thick whitish fur [syn: ounce, Panthera uncia]

The snow leopard or ounce ( Panthera uncia syn. Uncia uncia) is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because, as of 2003, the size of the global population was estimated at 4,080–6,590 adults, of which fewer than 2,500 individuals may reproduce in the wild.

Drawing from the latest available data, the Global Snow Leopard and Eco-System Protection Program (GSLEP) uses an estimate of between 3,920 and 6,390 individuals in the wild.

A book chapter published in 2016 by Peter Zahler et al. indicates that the number of wild snow leopards may currently between 4,700 and 8,700 individuals, raising the numbers of the population across 44 percent of their range. However, the scientific validity of this higher estimate has been put in question by other conservation scientists.

Snow leopards inhabit alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from . In the northern range countries, they also occur at lower elevations.

Taxonomically, the snow leopard was classified as Uncia uncia since the early 1930s. Based on genotyping studies, the cat has been considered a member of the genus Panthera since 2008. Two subspecies have been attributed, but genetic differences between the two have not been settled.

The snow leopard is the National Heritage Animal of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The snow leopard is a type of large cat.

Snow Leopard may also refer to:

• Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the seventh major release of Apple's OS X operating system
• The Snow Leopard, a book by Peter Matthiessen
• The Snow Leopard (EP), an EP by Shearwater
• Snow Leopard award, a Soviet mountaineering award
• Snow Leopard Commando Unit, a special police unit of the People's Republic of China
• Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong or the Snow Leopard, Ghanaian skier