Snow Leopards is a carnivorous predators, show some interesting biological behaviors and concepts.
No Roar: The genus Panthera is comprised of tigers, jaguars, lions, and leopards. But one characteristic that sets them apart from the other species of this genus is that they are unable to roar.
It was thought earlier that the incomplete ossification of the hyoid bone produces the ability to roar but this feature is also present in snow leopards. But it is known now that the specific morphology of vocal folds in the larynx is responsible for this ability that is lacking in snow leopards.
They communicate using other sounds like purrs, growls, and hisses similar to other big cats. It was earlier thought these cats were the first to diverge within the genus Panthera, but it has been recently established that it actually forms a sister clade with tigers.
These 2 groups diverged between 4.62 and 1.82 million years ago and further diverged from each other around 3.7-2.7 mya. The ability to roar might have been an ancestral feature that got lost in snow leopards after their divergence.
Alpine Adaptations: As they are native to cold alpine habitats, they have adapted and evolved various adaptations that aid in their survival.
Snow leopards have dense woolly underfur, long hair, round and small ears. These features aid to conserve body heat and reduce heat loss. These features can also be seen in arctic foxes and polar bears.
Other adaptations include long thick tails that they wrap around their body to keep warm and an enlarged nasal cavity that helps to warm the air before it enters the lungs. They also exhibit adaptations that help them to live on rugged mountainsides.
They possess long tails and short forelegs that help them to keep their balance. Their long hind legs aid them to jump up to 30 feet during hunting. Their light-colored fur along with dark spots also helps them to camouflage with the mountains.
Apex Predator: These big cats are apex predators and form the topmost trophic levels and do not have natural predators. Other examples of apex predators include sharks, crocodiles, and eagles.
They can exert top to bottom influence on ecosystems as they can check the population of other prey and predators. Human interventions in form of poaching of apex predators can trigger a trophic cascade where population sizes of lower food chain species are dramatically altered.
This will lead to changes in biodiversity, effect on ecosystem structure, and nutrient cycling.