The snow leopard is not a single species, but three distinct subspecies, according to experts in molecular genetic studies.

Biological samples from snow leopards have shown that the species can be conditionally divided into three genetic clusters based on location. The central subspecies consists of snow leopards from the Tibetan Plateau and the main part of the Himalayas (Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, and the north and south of the Chinese province of Qinghai). The western group includes those living in the west of the Himalayas (India), Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and part of Kazakhstan. And the northern subspecies is made up of snow leopards from Mongolia, Russia and its border with Kazakhstan.

The specialists note that the research will continue, as the analysis took into account few samples from areas of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.