Why do snow leopards ‘bite’ their tails?
Snow leopards do not ‘bite’ their tails to keep their nose warm as has been stated. Neither do they bite their tails in an aggressively harmful way. They don’t even bite their tails. They hold their tails in their mouths because they enjoy doing it as a distracting diversion, as a comforter, or as an act within play. My view is that it is similar to human babies sucking their thumbs. Domestic kittens sometimes suck their thumbs too. The behavior may indicate anxiety.
Snow leopard carries his tail in his mouth. Screenshot.
All the photographs that I have seen of snow leopards biting their tails have been taken in captivity. One of the photographs shows an adult snow leopard ‘biting’ (not really biting) his tail clearly in play. Another photograph shows a snow leopard cub biting the tail of a parent. This will also be in play.
Cub biting tail of parent
The snow leopard is perhaps the tamest and most gentle of all the wild cat species in captivity. This handsome wild cat behaves somewhat like a domestic cat in captivity.
Quite often in homes, we see domestic cats playing with their tails. The cat’s tail is rather like a cat tease. A cat tease is a feather on a stick which excites a cat. Cats can create their own entertainment with their own tails and the tails of other cats.
I suspect that the adult snow leopard gently holds his tail in his mouth as a vestigial1 act of play and one which is pleasing to the cat.
Here is a video of a subadult holding their tail in their mouth and carrying it in their mouth as they walked. It looks to me as if they are enjoying it and it is as if they find comfort in it as a baby human finds comfort in sucking their thumb.
Humans do many things like this which serve no apparent purpose other than they are pleasant and distracting. We may see snow leopards do this more in captivity because of stress levels. Snow leopards may find the activity reduces stress in much the same way that cats groom themselves because it feels pleasant and in feeling pleasant stress is reduced.
There is nothing in the best books that I have on the wild cats about snow leopards biting their tails. On the internet, there are articles on snow leopards “nomming” their tails. The word “nomming” describes the sound made while chewing on something. The fact is that I do not believe that snow levels chew on their tails. They simply place their tail in their mouth and nibble it perhaps as part of play, as stated.
There may even be a throwback to kittenhood going on: suckling at mother’s nipple. If so this is once again a reassuring pastime.
Note 1: vestigial: a very small remnant of something that was once greater or more noticeable.
Below are some more pages on the magnificent snow leopard.
Snow leopard walked non-stop for 10 kilometers through 20-inch-deep snow
Snow leopards eat a large quantity of vegetation
Infographic on snow leopard physical features
Interesting question! I’m not sure I have a definitive answer, but I think it has something to do with balance and control. When a snow leopard is in a tree, it needs to be able to control its body so it
Is there any research about cats doing it? I know of someone whose cat damaged the end of its tail so badly that it went all the way to the bone and vet almost had to cut off that segment. Anything you know about this? Any remedies available when cat toys for sucking don’t work? Thanks.
I am working on this. I’ll make a second comment shortly. Hope u are well.
We are ok. Appreciating your offer.
Well, I wrote a page about it or I updated an earlier page. It is a long page which pretty much signifies that I don’t know the answer! But then again you will find, I believe, that most veterinarians don’t really get to the bottom of what I would call mental health issues in domestic cats. If you are interested in what I want to say about it then please tick on the link below.
https://pictures-of-cats.org/why-does-my-cat-bite-his-tail.html
Thanks. Very very interesting. I’ll post the specific comments there in a bit
Thanks for the research Michael
Michael
do you know if these snow leopard individual displaying this tail biting were hand reared?
Ingo
Sorry Ingo, I don’t know the answer to that question. If you have a theory on why snow leopards do this, please spell it out in a comment and I may turn it into an article. Thanks for commenting.
Are you hinting that these cats were weaned early and this is a sign?
It is a bit odd, though, that seemingly only snow leopards do this. I’ve looked through hundreds of pictures of various types of leopards and I’ve only seen the Snow Leopard do this and – you’re right – only in captivity.
Though it may be worth noting that Snow Leopards have the bushiest of the leopard tails, that I’ve seen.
Very interesting article, thanks!
Yes, your right. I think my assessment is correct 😉 I would!
Thanks fir the research Michael
I believe you’re right again, Michael. Isn’t their tail one of the longest too? That would make it more accessible; and their fur is dense, so yeah, perfect cat toy.
Again, just referenced, and found this article on the snow leopard. Captivity.
There’s a Tail here to be Tallied* LOL :}
Michael_this is a very interesting phenomenon isn’t it. Eva
Yes, it is EVA. I simply had to decide myself what the reason is. There are no books on this. I may be incorrect.
I am annoyed because these days I often use Dragon Dictate (dictation software) to write the articles and the title contained a typo which I was blind to. It is now corrected. I have to wait a couple hours and then re-read it to spot these typos.