No.4
"SNOW LEOPARD"
THE MYSTIQUE OF THE SNOW LEOPARD
Gary's snow leopard is one of the most popular and sought
after of all his prints. It is probably the print which launched the secondary market in his work,
soon after its appearance in 1994.
ELUSIVE... SUPERBLY ADAPTED... ENDANGERED... BEAUTIFUL AND MYSTERIOUS... NOTE from the writer, Peter Wilde:
The Latin name of the species uncia means
"a twelfth part of a whole". Since a twelfth of a pound (in Troy weight!)
is an ounce, a common alternative name for the snow leopard is the OUNCE.
However, this does not explain why the name uncia was used for the snow
leopard in the first place. Can anyone provide the explanation?
The drawing is immediately appealing because of its format, but it is the
detail which so brilliantly captures the mystery and spirit of this
species - elusive, superbly adapted to its mountain environment, endangered
and one of the world's most beautiful and mysterious animals.
Snow leopards are found in the beautiful and remote mountains of
Central Asia, at altitudes of up to 5000 metres in summer. Although its
range is extremely large, the snow leopard actually occurs only in isolated and
fragmented pockets spanning a dozen countries. In this harsh environment they are very elusive. The first photographs
in the wild were only taken in the 1970's and very little is known about their
social behaviour. They are night hunters and solitary, except perhaps in the
breeding season.
In freezing conditions the coat needs to be exceptionally thick,
with a dense undercoat. Its smoky grey colour
(tinged in parts with cream, yellow and buff) and its pattern of dark
blotches and rings, provide the perfect camouflage against snow and
lichen covered rocks.
The characteristic long bushy tail, which at around 0.9 metres it is almost as long as
the body, can be wrapped around like an extra blanket, but more importantly
provides the animal with balance as it runs and leaps over rocky ground.
The powerful limbs are quite short for its size, but the paws are large
and have hairy pads. The relatively small head and high forehead are distinctive. It is unrelated
to the leopard and is now regarded as a unique species
Uncia uncia, separate from all the other big cats.
Due
to the remoteness and huge expanse of its lofty habitat, protection of
this species is virtually impossible, as is any accurate assessment
of its numbers. Current estimates of total numbers range from 4000 to 7000.
In the early 1900's the number of snow leopards was decimated by hunting
for their pelts and they have been affected in the 1990's by illegal
poaching for their bones, which are used in Chinese "medicines". Now it faces major new threats from
development, mineral extraction and population encroachment in the
countries where it still occurs, as they strive to build their economies.
It will be a very tragic day for the world if these mountains ever lose their
last snow leopard. Although there are now probably more held in captivity
than exist in the wild, this is a species which, perhaps more than any other,
is at its majestic best in the swirling mists of its own eco-system at
the top of the world. Here it is in tune with the spirit and mystique that surrounds it.