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Rose

About Rose

Rose was born on May 20, 1991.  She arrived at Chimps Incorporated as a three month old kitten destined to be a pet in Wisconsin.  When the people could not obtain their USDI license she remained here with us, where she was able to spend her life. Her one-acre enclosure is natural and very similar to her native terrain of Central Asia.  She had rocks to lie on, Juniper Trees for shade, and lots of room to jump and play with her favorite basketballs.  Occasionally, a bird or rodent stimulated her by falling victim to her natural hunting instincts.  Her diet consists of raw, skinned chicken and red meat scraps from various game.  In the wild, snow leopards may not eat for up to two weeks; we simulate a fasting period for one day a week.  This enabled her body to cleanse itself of wastes. 

Rose was a beautiful animal with a luxurious coat.  A child once described her belly as "white lotion".  She passed away in 2006. She is sorely missed.

Known as "the spirit of the Himalayas," the beautiful and ghostly snow leopard is a secretive member of the cat family.  Unlike any other cat, the snow leopard has adapted to some of the most challenging environments in the world.  They are found on the arid mountain steppes and coniferous forest scrub of central Asia and eastern Russia.  Specific mountain regions include the Himalayas, Alti and Hindu Kush.

Their dense gray and white fur provides the warmth and camouflage necessary in their snowy rocky habitat.  Their tail is 3/4 the length of their body and is used for balance and warmth as it wraps around their sinewy body.  Snow leopards tread the snowy regions on tremendously oversized front paws that provide insulation against the cold as well as traction, much like snowshoes.

The snow leopard is extremely endangered as a result of: poaching for fur, bones and body parts for Asian medicine, loss of pre populations, herdsmen killing to protect their livestock, hunting for high social esteem, degradation, loss and fragmentation of habitat, expansion of human population, and lack of awareness.  With so many environmental and social pressures, as well as sparse distribution and inaccessible habitat their wild population has been estimated to be as few as 1500.

The snow leopard preys on ibex, markhor an other wild goats, wild sheep, hare, mice, bharal and other small birds.  At lower elevations during the winter they subsist on deer and wild boar, and may feed on domestic animals when wild games is scarce.  The snow leopards home range can cover up to 100 square miles because of lack of abundant prey.  They can range at elevations as high as 19,000 fee in the summer but are more typically found between 10,000 feet to 13,000 feet.

INTERESTING SNOW LEOPARD FACTS:

• Snow leopards are not great climbers but can leap from 40 to 50 feet.

• Solitary creatures, only pairing during the breeding season.

• They chuff.  The chuff is considered to be a friendly and non-threatening alternative to purring.

• "Rare, shy, and solitary, the snow leopard haunts the roof of the world like a phantom, storied, but seldom seen."-----Rod Jackson & Darla Hilliard, from the scientific paper "Tracking the Elusive Snow Leopard."

• "If the lions are the King of the Beasts, and tigers the King of the Jungle, the snow leopard is surely the Queen of the High Mountains of Asia." Dr. Rodeny Jackson and Ashrig Ahmad from "The Proceeding of the Eighth International Snow Leopard Symposium."