"The snow leopard is usually found above 5000 feet and occurs as high as 18,000 feet. Though nowhere common, it has a wide range in the mountains of central Asia, from the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan eastward along the Himalaya and across Tibet into southern China, and also northward in the mountains of the U.S.S.R. and of west China to the , on the southern border of Mongolia: the few specimens caught in the wild come mostly from the of the U.S.S.R., where trapping is limited and the animal is otherwise protected. The typical snow leopard has pale frosty eyes and a coat of pale misty gray, with black rosettes that are clouded by the depth of the rich fur. An adult rarely weighs more than a hundred pounds or exceeds six feet in length, including the remarkable long tail, thick to the tip, used presumably, for balance and for warmth, but it kills creatures three times its own size without much difficulty. It has enormous paws and a short-faced ; it is bold and agile in the hunt, and capable of terrific leaps ..."