Which Of The Wild Cats Are Endangered?

Many species of wild cat are under threat from habitat loss and invasion of territory by expansion of human civilisation. The magnificent and solitary Snow leopard, which is native to the Hundu Kush and the Himalayas, is an endangered species but it is hardly ever seen so it is very difficult to make an accurate estimate of numbers still in existence.

The Snow leopard has a soft grey-white coat, marked with rows of dark brown spots and this makes it a great prize for fur traders, which have hunted the animal relentlessly. There is a legal ban on trading in such fur in many countries but black market and demand means that trading does still continue.

The territory of the Snow leopard extends over an area that is 100 square kilometres in the mountainous steppe an forests, at over 5500 metres above sea level. A strange thing about the Snow leopard that, unlike most of the big cats, it is completely unable to roar.

The cheetah, placed in a subfamily of the Felidae family on its own because it is so unique, is the most endangered of all the big cats. Cheetahs find it hard to live in the presence of towns and villages and, as the human population has spread, they have become virtually extinct in India and the Middle East and are becoming very rare in Africa.