Animals in Snow: 23 Winter Photos and How Each Species Copes with Cold

Snow turns any animal portrait into a studio shot: a clean white background, falling flakes and frost on fur. These 23 photographs gather wild and domestic animals in winter, from polar bears and a snow leopard to a squirrel caught mid-snowfall, and each species has its own way of dealing with the cold.

Squirrel with snow piled on its head and back, holding food in falling snow — A squirrel keeps eating as snow builds up on its back. Credit: Ray Yeager.

Big cats in the snow: snow leopard, tiger and cougar

The snow leopard is the true specialist. It lives in the mountains of Central and South Asia, mostly between 3,000 and 4,500 metres, from the Himalayas to Mongolia and southern Siberia. Its fur grows 5–12 cm long, and its thick, fat-storing tail helps it balance on rock and doubles as a scarf: the cat wraps it around its face while it sleeps. The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable, with fewer than 10,000 mature animals left in the wild.

Snow leopard with snow on its spotted fur looking toward the camera — Snow leopard with a dusting of fresh snow.

Tiger resting beside a snow-covered log with frost on its face — A tiger resting in the snow, its coat frosted white.

Cougar crouching in snow next to a fence — A cougar crouched low in the snow.

Polar bears, seals and life on the ice

Polar bears are built for extreme cold. Under the skin lies a layer of fat 5–10 cm thick, topped by dense underfur about 5 cm long. The outer guard hairs are hollow and transparent; they look white because they reflect light, while the black skin beneath absorbs heat. Pregnant females dig maternity dens in snow between August and October, and cubs are born weighing only about 600 grams. The IUCN estimates 22,000 to 31,000 polar bears in the wild and lists them as Vulnerable.

Three polar bears resting and standing in deep snow — Polar bears resting in the snow.

Polar bear mother with two cubs in snow at low sun — A polar bear mother with her cubs.

White-furred animal face peering out of a hollow in deep snow — Peering out from a snow den.

Seal pup lying curled on the snow with its mouth open — A seal pup stretching on the snow.

Snow monkeys and red pandas

Japanese macaques live farther north and in a colder climate than any other non-human primate, with their northernmost groups on Honshu’s Shimokita Peninsula. Their coats thicken as the temperature falls, and they cope with lows of about −20 °C. At Jigokudani Monkey Park they warm up in hot springs, and they are known to roll snowballs simply for fun.

Red pandas come from the eastern Himalayas and south-western China, at 2,000–4,300 metres. Hair on the soles of their feet lets them walk on snow, and in the cold they curl up tightly with a leg over the face. They eat mainly bamboo and are listed as Endangered.

Young Japanese macaque walking upright through snow holding a snowball — A young Japanese macaque carrying a snowball.

Two red pandas wrestling in the snow — Two red pandas playing in fresh snow.

Owls and winter birds

The snowy owl breeds on the Arctic tundra of North America and Eurasia and often wanders south in winter. Males are almost pure white; females carry more dark barring. Its toes are covered in the longest feathers of any owl, and unlike most owls it often hunts by day. Lemmings are its key prey in the breeding season.

Snowy owl with yellow eyes and dark-barred white plumage against grey rock — A snowy owl with dark-barred plumage.

Barred owl perched on a snowy branch in a dark forest — A barred owl on a snow-covered branch.

Blue jay perched on a snow-covered twig — A blue jay among snowy twigs.

Foxes and weasels: hunting under the snow

A red fox can hear a mouse squeak about 100 metres away. In snow it listens for rodents moving underneath, then leaps high and dives head-first onto them, steering in mid-air with its tail and landing up to 5 metres away. Its winter fur is long, dense and soft.

Stoats and other weasels take the opposite approach: their long, slim bodies let them move through tunnels under the snow and follow mice into their burrows. In the north, the stoat turns almost completely white in winter, keeping only a black tail tip; the moult is triggered by day length.

Red fox stepping through deep snow at the edge of a forest — A red fox wading through deep snow.

White weasel looking out from a hole in the snow — A weasel in its white winter coat at a snow hole.

White weasel bounding across patchy snow with its mouth open — A white-coated weasel bounding over the snow.

Dogs, wolves, horses and backyard visitors

Domestic animals handle winter well when they are fit and well fed. Horses, for example, grow a winter coat that traps warm air so effectively that snow can sit on their backs without melting; according to the University of Minnesota Extension, a horse in full winter coat needs extra feed only below about −8 °C (18 °F). Hay, fresh water and shelter from wind and wet matter more than blankets.