Download Leopard 10.5
Dannette Blockmon
Hiking in the hills of northern Pakistan in the 1970s, WCS Senior Conservationist George Schaller spotted a snow leopard some 150 feet away. "Wisps of clouds swirled around," he later wrote in Stones of Silence, "transforming her into a ghost creature, part myth and part reality."
Your adoptions will help protect snow leopards and help fund our other vital work around the world. When you choose an animal adoption, you are supporting both your chosen animals as well as wider work to help bring our world back to life.
Adopt a snow leopard and you will give us a huge boost to our work. Adoptions not only help fund our work with local communities to monitor snow leopard movements and reduce human-snow leopard conflict but also fund our other vital work around the world.
Yes, you can adopt a snow leopard with WWF. Donations from snow leopard adoptions go both directly to support snow leopard, as well as to fund our wider work to protect nature and our planet. Adoptions are symbolic for donating and supporting our conservation work with different species. By adopting a snow leopard, you will be supporting a whole group of snow leopards, rather than one individual.
You can adopt a snow leopard with WWF from just 3 a month if you pay via Direct Debit, or with a minimum one-off payment of 36. To adopt a snow leopard with WWF, select your donation amount on the widget, click 'Adopt Now' and then complete your donation via our secure online checkout.
You can adopt a snow leopard with WWF from just 3 a month via Direct Debit, or from just 36 via a one-off payment. Your money could go further if you pay by Direct Debit as this supports our long-term planning and helps keep our administration costs down.
When you adopt a snow leopard with WWF, 50% of your donation will fund programs of work that directly support snow leopards while the remaining 50% will fund other projects that need it most. After adopting a snow leopard you'll receive a welcome pack including an optional toy and note from the WWF team welcoming you on board. We'll keep you updated on how you're supporting our vital work by sending you three adoption updates a year.
Snow leopard adoptions help us; train and equip community anti-poaching patrols; work with local communities to monitor snow leopards and their prey; support community-run livestock insurance schemes to help local herders protect their livelihoods.
The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches. By dragging the bodies of large animals aloft it hopes to keep them safe from scavengers such as hyenas. Leopards can also hunt from trees, where their spotted coats allow them to blend with the leaves until they spring with a deadly pounce. These nocturnal predators also stalk antelope, deer, and pigs by stealthy movements in the tall grass. When human settlements are present, leopards often attack dogs and, occasionally, people.
Most leopards are light colored with distinctive dark spots that are called rosettes, because they resemble the shape of a rose. Black leopards, which appear to be almost solid in color because their spots are hard to distinguish, are commonly called black panthers.
Snow leopards are generally smaller than other big cats, but still exhibit a wide range of sizes. They are covered in long thick fur which has a base color that varies from smoky grey to a light yellow tan, with white under parts. They have deep grey to black open rosettes (spots!) on their body with small spots of the same color on their heads. Due to the colder climate they are found in, snow leopards show several adaptations for harsh weather living. Their stocky bodies, thick fur, and small rounded ears are all designed to minimize heat loss. Their wide paws help to distribute their weight better for walking on snow, and they have fur on their undersides to increase their traction on steep and unstable surfaces. The long flexible tail of a snow leopard is perfect for helping to maintain balance as well!
Tadpoles of the American bullfrog and Columbia spotted frog are similar and occupy the same range. American bullfrog tadpoles have distinct black spots over the dorsal surface of the body. Other references should be consulted to accurately separate leopard frog and Columbia spotted frog tadpoles, but in general, leopard frog tadpoles differ in lacking dark mottling on the tail fin and having abdominal muscles that are nearly transparent.
The Columbia spotted frog is the only amphibian within the Washington range of the leopard frog that also has grapefruit-sized globular egg masses. Leopard frogs do not have multi-clustered egg masses placed together in one pile, but rather they attach single egg masses to vegetation in water over 6 inches deep. Spotted frogs have a thicker jelly coat around the eggs and therefore the eggs do not appear tightly packed within the mass (except when the egg mass is first laid).
Northern leopard frogs are semi-aquatic, requiring both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Breeding occurs in shallow, still water. Typically these areas are exposed to sunlight and have thin but sturdy vegetation stems for egg attachment. In central Washington, breeding takes place in March-May. Males vocalize with a low snore followed by low grunts to attract females to breeding locations.
The northern leopard frog has experienced range-wide declines throughout the western United States and Canada. Historical occurrences range from the Columbia Plateau, Okanogan and Canadian Rocky Mountain Ecoregions. Northern leopard frogs were found throughout eastern Washington, and 17 occupied sites were recognized throughout the Columbia, Crab Creek, Pend Oreille, Snake, Spokane, and Walla Walla river drainages. The last known population of northern leopard frogs in Washington is in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area.
This map from the Washington Herp Atlas illustrates the known distribution of northern leopard frog in Washington as of 2016. If you see this species in areas that are not indicated on the map, please share your observation using the WDFW wildlife reporting form.
Due to the significant reduction in range and abundance of leopard frogs in Washington, and the continued threats to the remaining occupied sites, leopard frog were classified as an endangered species in Washington in 1999. The law protects endangered species and prohibits them from being hunted, taken maliciously, harassed, or possessed. This is for all life stages including adults, juveniles, tadpoles, and eggs. Keeping this species as a pet in Washington is also prohibited because species native to the state cannot be kept in captivity. The only exceptions are for zoos, educational centers, rehabilitation facilities, and research facilities that receive permits from WDFW.
Only one native population remains in Washington. Efforts are underway to recover this species in central Grant County. WDFW is partnering with Washington State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Zoo, and Northwest Trek to better understand population status and trends, to improve habitat conditions, and to reintroduce a northern leopard frog population to the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge.
Pets are often important parts of our families and lives. They help teach valuable life lessons and bring happiness. When done correctly, pet ownership can increase our quality of life. However, when people release pets or they escape into the wild, they can create great harm to our ecosystems and decrease our quality of life. Most pets released into the wild will suffer and die, but some survive and can cause millions of dollars in damages. There are examples all over the world of pets that have been released, established populations, and caused damage to natural systems. In Washington, northern leopard frogs have been reduced to just one population and are listed as a state endangered species. Below are some examples of common pet species that could affect our native northern leopard frog population and how they may affect them.
Goldfish are closely related to another invasive species of fish, the common carp. Carp are found throughout the state and many enjoy them for recreational fishing because of their robust populations, the shallow water they inhabit, and large size to which they can grow. Thus, they have been moved around WA and are now well established in many watersheds. Unfortunately, the characteristics that make them a good recreational fish are also characteristics that make them a harmful invasive species. Mature female carp carry hundreds of thousands of eggs. During spawning, these large fish use shallow water habitat with emergent vegetation. This habitat is also used as breeding habitat by northern leopard frogs during the same time of year. The result is that carp displace the frogs or disturb delicate egg masses that are attached to the emergent vegetation. Carp also forage on emergent vegetation, resulting in significantly degraded habitat that effects leopard frogs, as well as other native amphibian, fish, and waterfowl species. Common carp are considered an Aquatic Invasive Species. Read more about carp on the WDFW common carp page.
Non-native northern leopard frogs from outside of Washington were discovered in the Spokane area in 2018 based on DNA analysis completed by Washington State University. Leopard frogs are very common in other areas of the United States, and often used in laboratories or kept as classroom pets. Though these are important uses for the species, these animals are not genetically the same as the northern leopard frogs present in WA. Conserving genetically distinct populations help species be more resilient during times of environmental change. Non-native frogs could result in direct competition for space and food, making it more difficult for the native population to survive. Most importantly, the exact impacts of non-native northern leopard frogs on our native population are unknown and could have unexpected negative consequences to the local ecosystem.
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