Your Life as a Snow Leopard

[Mumbling] Finally. It's been two weeks and you can now  actually hear me. What I was saying was that as per usual you're born blind deaf and utterly  helpless, just a little over the size of your mother's paw.

You do get a nice fluffy coat of  fur though. This protects you from the cold harsh rugged environment on the other side of that  gap, where mom's just heading out for the day. Don't worry she pops back regularly to check on  you, even though at this point all you can do is stare at the ceiling.

She returns at dusk which is  actually when she'd rather be out but you all need your night time snuggles. You're now 5 weeks old  and decide enough is enough, so summon all your strength to try and look at something that isn't  the ceiling. But you're still not strong enough to brave the harsh outdoors so mum again, has to  leave you to your own devices.

You were originally classified in your own genus before further study  got you reclassified into Panthera, or big cats. So you've now got a lot to live up to. Oh no. 

Sounds like danger is around, and mom wouldn't be back this soon. Hopefully not a male snow  leopard, that never ends well for kids. A brown bear wouldn't be much better.

Luckily even at this  age you're basically invisible so you still have a chance here. Phew. Mum continues to leave the den  as you rack up game time until a month passes when she decides to bring work home with her.

I guess  that's what these sharp things are for. You're now 3 months old and the time has come. As you  approach the exit you brace yourself.

This high up is going to be cold, dangerous, struggles at every  corner. . .

Oh it's not actually that bad. Suppose it is still the summer. Which also means there's  some easy dinner around.

Nice now you'll finally get to see mum in action. . .

or not. Okay must  still be some potential danger. For now you're starting simple, learning how to effectively cross  basic rocky terrain.

That might be a bit of a push. Mum teaches you how to catch some smaller  prey which is handy as you turn 5 months old and are now fully weaned. Now that you're getting a  bit older it's time to start practicing some more advanced skills.

You continue to grow in size  and strength and gradually take on some steeper climbs. Next you start to follow in your species  footsteps and begin your training to become the Himalaya's next long jump champion. With these  new life skills acquired mom decides it's safe for you to watch and learn how to hunt.

On the next  hunt she even lets you finish off the kill. Nice, it feels like small steps but it's important to go  slow when learning. Wait we're missing one.

This isn't going to end. [Thud] Well, at least mom's used to this kind of thing.  Over the next year you continue to receive one-on-one tutoring from mum, learning all the key  skills needed for adult life.

You're able to hunt on your own now but she's still hanging around as  backup. This all comes to an end when you reach 20, 22 months old, and you're ready to brave the  world alone, but first there's just one more thing to conquer. It all comes down to this.

After one  last look at mum you take a breath and go for it. [Thud] You are now an adult snow leopard. Time to say bye to mum and head off  to find a territory.

You've now reached your max size weighing a whopping. . .

oh that's not quite  as much as you expected. It's not exactly near the other big cat, and that's what makes you  so good at navigating an environment they'd all fail miserably in. Another thing you have that  they don't is your great big bushy tail, that is nearly the same length as the rest of your body. 

Not only does this help you balance as you search for a territory along rocky cliff edges 12,000 ft  above sea level, but it also stores some extra fat for the somehow even colder winter months ahead.  Smells like another snow leopards claim this area. Confrontation is not your strong suit so you go  and look elsewhere.

The most important things to consider when choosing your territory are food,  and where you can hide from it. Your ears are rounded to preserve heat and you keep them nice  and flat to avoid detection. Your unique spotty pattern blends in perfectly with the background  as you slowly approach the target.

Once you're in range you use your longer hind legs to launch  30 ft, expose your sharp canine teeth, and catch the prey off guard. [Bahh]. Nice that was quite a  respectable leap.

Pretty good considering you're only 2 ft tall. Not quite the 50ft record though.  That kill took some energy so after dragging your dinner to a cozier spot, you catch a breath by  using your large muscular chest and short wide nasal tubes to inhale vast quantities of air  into your large lungs.

Your nasal tubes also warm the cold air before it reaches your lungs,  as well as removing excess heat from the air as you exhale. This combined with your smaller and  more numerous red blood cells when compared to the other big cats, is why you don't suffer from  altitude sickness due to the absurd lack of oxygen here. Now that you've caught your breath it's  time to tuck in.

[Scoffing]. Delicious. To make the most of this feast you need to stay around  this area for 3 or 4 days, so you can scrape it right down to the bone.

But you quite like it here  so you think you'll stay longer. You're knackered after your long day so after scent marking your  new zone, avoiding potential social interaction, it's time to find a cozy spot for the night. You  climb up to a high point in the rocky mountains for a good view of possible threats, then wrap  your built-in blanket around for comfort and warmth.

Aww, aren't you cute. Sorry you're not  cute, you're you're a fierce big cat a ruthless apex predator. .

. even if your large nasal cavities  give you a shorter muzzle and more rounded forehead. Over the next few days you continue  to eat past the best before day, which then gets you through another 10 days when you decide you're  now hungry again, and it's time to start the whole process all over again.

Well looks like winter has  come. That would explain why your fur is now more off-white. At this time of year your main sources  of energy all head further down the mountain to avoid completely freezing to death, so that's  where you head too.

You're built to withstand minus 40° temperatures, but that doesn't mean  you want to. Your next target. Same as before, slowly approach till.

. . oops.

Okay stealths out  the window, the chase is on. You leap down the mountain hitting your top speed of 40 mph trying  to close in on the target. You're not the fastest big cat but what you lose in speed you make up for  an agility, and massive paws that distribute your weight so you can walk on surfaces others can't. 

You were lucky with that one as typically food is more scarce this time of year. It's coming up to  Christmas, a time for giving, and you could really do with a fat turkey. There's not much food around  so you wonder if that nice farmer is in a festive mood.

You head on over and start eyeing up your  favorite target. That one on the left looks nice. ow.

ow. Fine, fine you'll leave. I guess they're not  feeling very festive.

As winter comes to an end you start to head back up the mountains, again  following the food. Hmm what's that? They have some massive horns.

Finally, a worthy opponent.  Your battle will be legend, oh you've already killed it. That was quick.

Well I was going to say  that you leap down the mountain using your large chest muscles to absorb the impact, again catching  your prey with the element of surprise. Anyway. This is good timing cause it will give you a nice  boost of energy for the upcoming mating season.

In order to find a partner you look for the telltale  signs that someone has been in the area. Nice you found them. After a few welcoming vocalizations  you spend the next few days together, the only social time of your year.

They don't  really stand a chance. Once the deed is done, as a male you take off leaving behind a single  mother, so you can enjoy the peace and quiet again. And that's pretty much the only unique  thing you do as a male.

As a female you take on the responsibility of your species survival  and spend the next 3 months preparing to become a mother. This looks like a good place for a  den. It's nice and high up and there's lots of prey animals around, which are not only good for  food, but act as an alarm making loads of noise when danger around.

Using some of your fur you  kit out the new den making it nice and cozy for the new arrivals. During the early days, same  as your mother, you leave the den regularly to hunt enough food to feed the four of you. As the  kids grow older you gradually show them the way of the world until they're able to go off on their  own.

Nice finally got rid of them. Now you can go and enjoy one of your favorite activities,  drinking the blood of your prey to get drunk, apparently. This could be truth or legend, but  at the moment this isn't really your concern, as you're now struggling to see and that amazing  balance of yours doesn't seem to be working.

The next thing you know you're waking up in the middle  of nowhere to a lot of pain, in multiple places. Now you're in some trouble. You try to move but  struggle in pain then let out a big roar to scare off any predators.

[Meow]. Oh is that it? Oh yeah  you can't actually roar because you don't have the right vocal cords, never mind.

Days go past and  you barely make any ground. Hunger and dehydration are setting in and you're becoming delirious,  when two mysterious figures suddenly approach you. The ghosts of the mountains warn you of the  approaching danger and how you'll never outrun it, leaving you with only one option.

Before you can  ask anything back they vanish and you start to hear the rumbling sound of footsteps. They were  right there is only one option. You close your eyes, roll off the cliff, and and hope for  the best.

Ow well you made it shame the same thing can't be said for that guy. Although you'll  live to see another day you are in a lot of pain, aching all over. Hey I wonder if that ancient  traditional snow leopard part medicine actually does anything.

Everything still really hurts.  That's not surprising. After a little rest you're back on your feet, and since the humans  have made their feelings about you very clear, you decide to move to the 70% of your habitat  unexplored by them.

You cover the length of a marathon overnight looking for your next meal  as snow builds up around the rocky mountains. It's going to be another tough winter, but that's  fine you'll survive. Even though you're smaller and can't roar, you've proved yourself a worthy  big cat thriving where none of the others could, perfectly adapted to dominate this specific  rocky, cold, and snowy environment.

[Factory Sound] [Sun Blazing] Ah.