As
always, when I want to learn more about a wild animal I go exploring. That’s
how I came to spend a winter in Antarctica, the experience that inspired me to
write A Mother’s Journey, a story about what female emperor penguins
do while the males hatch out the eggs.
Sometimes,
though, I just can’t get to the places I need to go to explore firsthand.
Then I track down experts who have been able to go to those places and studied
the wild animals I want to write about. That was the case with Snow
School. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tom McCarthy who
has spent many years climbing the high, rugged mountains of Pakistan in order
to learn about the life and behavior of snow leopards.
To
see where snow leopards live and where the story of Snow School takes place,
go online to find out about Pakistan (in red on the globe to the left). Also
search for information about the Hindu Kush Mountains, the setting for the
story. This habitat is one of the harshest on earth and requires the cats
to be able to chase fast prey downhill over very rocky terrain. |
| From Snow School |
Even
during his many years studying snow leopards Dr. McCarthy shared that he only
had a chance to watch a few downhill chases as snow leopards caught prey. He said, “Once, I was lucky enough to see a mother have two cubs with her while
she hunted.”
Dr.
McCarthy guessed these cubs were in training. Snow leopard cubs spend two
years with their mothers learning to survive on their own. That inspired
me to wonder what lessons snow leopard cubs need to learn in order to be
successful in the extreme conditions of their home habitat.
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| Dr. Tom McCarthy with a snow leopard cub (photo courtesy of Panthera Snow Leopard Trust) |
For one thing, as soon as
they’re big enough, snow leopard cubs travel with their mother. That way they get
a close look at the features of their environment. And they learn the
shortest, safest routes to take.
 |
| Fr0m Snow School |
To
get a feel for what the snow leopard cubs are learning, go to your local park
or playground with a parent or adult partner. Take along a pencil and a notepad.
Draw a map of the area. Use symbols to mark any key landmarks, like
fountains or statues, big trees, or benches. Next, study the map with
your partner and plan the fastest, safest path to use to travel across the mapped
area. Then use a watch to time how long it takes you to run across the
area following your chosen path. Afterwards, revisit the map and decide
if another way might be easier and safer. Time test your new route.
 |
| From Snow School |
The
snow leopard’s habitat is really a high desert with very steep terrain. When these cats hunt, they have to chase down prey animals, like ibex, capable
of running down steep, rocky slopes without falling. And they have to
pounce at just the right moment to stop their prey without going over a cliff.
Snow
leopards do have some natural built-in advantages. One is a very long
tail. Dr. McCarthy reports that a snow leopard’s tail is all muscle and
that it’s heavy. He said, “It must even be heavy for the snow leopard. In
snow, I’d see a mark where a cat would start to drag its tail after every two
or three steps. So holding up its long tail must be tiring.”
Having
such a long tail is worth the effort, though, when the snow leopard starts to
run. It swings its tail back and forth and that helps it stay balanced
while twisting and turning. To get a feel for how its tail helps a snow
leopard stay balanced, try this: stand on one foot with your hands at
your sides. Then repeat standing on one foot, but this time stretch out
your arms and move them forward and backward.
 |
| From Snow School |
Snow
leopards also have big feet that act like snowshoes, helping them walk on top
of fluffy snow. In fact, Dr. McCarthy reported a snow leopard’s feet
leave very round footprints because their feet are about as wide as they are
long (about four to five inches in both directions.) Measure the length and
width of one of your feet. How much longer is your foot that it is
wide? And, just for fun, figure out how much longer your foot is than a
snow leopard’s.
These
cats also have a lot of fur around their toes and the pads of their feet to
shield them from the ice and snow. Like housecats, snow leopards have
retractable claws. They put these out to help them climb and to stop
themselves from skidding.
Dr.
McCarthy reported that once a snow leopard catches prey it needs a safe place
to eat—safer than on a steep mountainside. Dr. McCarthy said, “I’ve
watched a snow leopard drag a big goat that weighs as much, if not slightly
more, than the cat does. And it dragged its prey uphill.”
 |
| From Snow School |
Imagine
pulling something that weighs as much as you do. Now, imagine doing it
the way a snow leopard does. This cat bites to grab its prey. Then
it drags this weight between its legs. This is another behavior snow
leopard cubs learn by being copycats, doing what their mother does.
You
might be surprised to learn that snow leopards usually only get a chance to
catch big prey about once a week. So when it is successful, the cat is
likely to stay by its prey and eat as much as 25 pounds of meat a day for two
to three days. How much is that? Weigh a plate. Then put the
food you’re going to eat for dinner on that plate and weigh it again. Subtract
the weight of the plate to see how much your meal weighs. How many of
those meals would you have to eat to equal what a snow leopard eats when food
is available?
 |
| From Snow School |
Posted by Sandra Markle, author of Snow School.
All illustrations copyright 2013 by Alan Marks from Snow School.
