Snow leopards are under increasing pressure as their primary prey species — blue sheep, ibex and argali — decline due to overgrazing by livestock, hunting and climate change across Central Asian mountain ranges.
Prey decline has direct welfare consequences for individual snow leopards, which experience nutritional stress and increased energetic expenditure when forced to hunt more frequently or take smaller prey. Animals in poor body condition have reduced reproductive success, weakened immune function and greater vulnerability to disease. Prey scarcity also pushes snow leopards into contact with livestock and humans, resulting in trapping, poisoning and shooting. Cubs of killed mothers face starvation. Maintaining healthy prey populations is fundamental to snow leopard welfare at a population level.