The Differences Between These 13 Feline Species

Snow leopards might have spots (and might be called "leopards") but, as WWF notes, they're more closely related to tigers than leopards. Indeed, their small eyes and chunky bodies with thick fur and huge paws are no coincidence. The Snow Leopard Trust explains why: Snow leopards dwell at very high altitudes, on difficult terrain, and on a long night, a snow leopard can walk a full marathon.

They live alone, on ranges of up to 1,000 square kilometers, so they rarely even meet each other, let alone are seen by humans. For a very long time, humans couldn't even catch snow leopards on camera for documentaries, as pointed out by David Attenborough on "Planet Earth." The snow leopard's extremely long tail and big paws help them keep their balance and even hunt on very treacherous terrain, full of steep slopes and unstable gravel. But catching prey is no easy feat, as snow leopards hunt ibex and blue sheep that are also perfectly adapted to running on rocky outcrops.

Snow leopards are big cats, but they can't roar. Instead, they yowl — a high-pitched sound that can be heard much like a lion's roar, miles away and over the sound of a river. Sadly, human activity is affecting all animal territories, including the secluded Central Asian mountains where snow leopards live. There could be as few as 4,000 snow leopards out there, per WWF, because of poaching, climate change, and habitat loss.