Compared to other members of the Felidae family, the leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull. It is similar in appearance to the jaguar, but is smaller and more slightly built. Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard’s rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. Both leopards and jaguars that are melanistic (completely black or very dark) are known as black panthers.

The species’ success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 58 kilometres per hour (36 mph), its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains.

Entering the English language in the late 19th century, the word safari means “long journey” in Swahili. Originally from the Arabic سفرة (safar) meaning a journey  The verb for “to travel” in Swahili is “kusafiri”, the noun for the journey is “safari”. These words are used for any type of journey, e.g. by bus from Nairobi to Mombasa. The person generally attributed to having used the word in English is Sir Richard Francis Burton, the famous explorer.

The Regimental March of the King’s African Rifles was ‘Funga Safari’, literally ‘Halt the March’, or, in other words, stop work for the day.

Funga safari, funga safari. Funga safari, funga safari. Hamari ya nani? Hamari ya nani? Hamari ya Bwana Kapteni, Hamari ya keyaa.

Which is, in English:

Halt the march. Halt the march. On whose orders? On whose orders? On the order of the boss captain, On the order of the KAR.

On Kenya’s independence from Britain, Funga Safari was retained as the Regimental March of the Kenya Rifles, successor to the K.A.R.

Sick of giving socks for presents? I know I’m sick of getting them. Well, not so much socks, not too many people give me those, but you know, those little gifts where people mean well, but you know that you’re never ever going to use the widget, gadget, thingumyjig.

If that’s you, then what about giving a goat? Why? Well, when you make a donation to the WWF, you can buy a goat, and get a personalized certificate to show your friend, family member, that you saved a snow leopard in their name.

How does it work? Snow leopards in Mongolia are going hungry because their natural prey, the natural food supply like wild argali goats, is being pushed out by domestic goats. So naturally they often hunt a domestic goat instead. When that happens the poor farmers and herders lose their only source of income and will often kill the snow leopard to stop it killing more livestock.

So WWF will give a herder in Mongolia a goat when he loses one and that stops him killing the cats and means they are protected and given a future. Great idea and everybody gets a wonderful present. Forget the socks – Buy a goat for some-one special today!

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Recently I posted a news story about the exPresident of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, having illegally kept a private zoo at his house. The zoo was discovered after he fled the country following weeks of violence and recent civil unrest. A number of endangered animals were found including two snow leopard cubs. Sadly the news has come through today that those two cubs died this week. A Russian news service said they were taken to a zoo in Jalal-Abad city, 240 km south of the capital, Bishkek. There have been no details about the deaths to date.

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I’ve been following the activities of the Snow Leopard Group on flickr for a few months and its worth bringing to readers’ attention. There are over 1200 members and thousands of photos of snow leopards taken in Zoos all around the world. Grab a good cup of tea or coffee and settle down for an enjoyable trip around the world with your favorite big cat. Here’s one pic from Jim Nicholson in the UK.

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The Snow Leopard Trust project in Mongolia has collared a tenth snow leopard and this time it’s a female which is great as the others have been male. Read about this amazing project, truly a world first in the number of cats collared and the huge amount of data being collected. Follow the cats on the Trust’s blog.

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Just a few days ago I wrote about the likely Snow Leopard Research Centre in Spiti Valley in northern India going ahead. Turns out there has just been a sighting of two snow leopards in that region. In the past there’s only been indirect evidence of the cats like pictures in trap cameras but this time  “the team saw two snow leopards who were in a playful mood and remained in sight for an hour, raising hope for the success of Project Snow Leopard” said KS Thakur, wildlife conservator. This is really good news for the Project, hopefully the Centre can be set up soon and do great research, community development and education in this region where we still have the beautiful cats.

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Readers may recall the story of the captured snow leopard in Afghanistan I wrote about in March(read here). Richard Fite, the US veterinarian who advises for the U.S. Agricultural Department in northern Afghanistan, tried to save the cat, which had been captured for the illegal wildlife trade, but sadly she died.  Richard shared his hope with the world that at least many government officials and others in the country are now more aware of the need to help these rare animals and perhaps the remaining snow leopards will be treated better.

Time magazine recently released a photo essay of truly shocking photos taken by Richard of the poor cat. I hope, along with Richard and others in Afghanistan, that these photos will help in educating people of the need to actively protect these animals. I don’t believe it’s an over statement to say, that it will take a lot of effort, a real lot, to stop snow leopards becoming extinct in the wild in Afghanistan in our lifetime. May this poor snow leopard not have suffered and died in vain.

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Last Friday the Australian Himalayan Foundation had its annual dinner here in Melbourne. It was an enjoyable dinner and about 350 people came together to celebrate their love of the Himalayas, its people, its culture and its wildlife.

On the 25th April the ninth snow leopard was collared in the Trust’s ongoing Mongolia study. He’s a male, weighing 34 kg and Orjan, the Swedish researcher working with the team thinks he’s about 2 years old. The new male is currently called M8