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Snow Leopard - Neofelis nebulosa Weight: 150 lbs A rare cat, the snow leopard is a large, graceful cat with a long, lithe build. Its coat is smoke gray with dark gray spots in broken rosettes. The snow leopard may be found above the tree line in the high mountains of central Asia, where it hunts by day, from the ground, and seeks grazing animals and large birds. Little is known about this cat, partly because of its rarity and partly because of its habitat: only a brave, mountain-climbing zoologist can study it in the wild. Some zoologists classify the snow leopard as a lesser cat, sticking with the genus Uncia, as its hyoid bones are intermediate between the two extremes: it can roar softly (though louder than the clouded leopard). Most zoologists, however, place it in the genus Panthera, and classify it as a greater cat. |
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