Q 01/05

Which nickname do conservationists often give the snow leopard?

A) The ghost of the mountains

B) The lion of the snows

C) The puma of the peaks

D) The jaguar of Asia

Answer · why

A) The ghost of the mountains

The ghost of the mountains: its smoky, dappled coat is such good camouflage that scientists find it extremely hard to locate and study in the wild.

Q 02/05

Which big cat is the snow leopard's closest living relative?

A) The lion

B) The jaguar

C) The tiger

D) The cheetah

Answer · why

C) The tiger

The tiger: genetic studies make the two sister species that split roughly three million years ago, so despite its name the snow leopard's nearest kin ...

Q 03/05

The old snow leopard name 'ounce' ultimately derives from the Greek word for which animal?

A) Lion

B) Wolf

C) Lynx

D) Bear

Answer · why

C) Lynx

Lynx: Old French lonce was misheard as l'once, and the clipped once, first used for the lynx itself, became the English word ounce.

Q 04/05

After killing a large animal, what does a snow leopard usually do?

A) Stays nearby, eating for days

B) Eats its fill and moves on

C) Drags it up into a tree

D) Hunts again the next day

Answer · why

A) Stays nearby, eating for days

Stays nearby, eating for days, and it may not hunt again for over a week.

Q 05/05

What stops the snow leopard from roaring like other big cats?

A) Its hyoid bone is fully ossified

B) Its larynx sits too high

C) Its lungs are too small

D) Its vocal folds are too short

Answer · why

D) Its vocal folds are too short

Its vocal folds are too short to give a roar the resistance it needs, yet like a house cat it can still purr.