---
title: "polar bear vs snow leopard — size, speed and bite force"
description: "polar bear and snow leopard compared on mass, length, speed, bite force and lifespan — every measure side by side, with why the numbers cannot settle an encounter."
url: https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/polar-bear-vs-snow-leopard/
site: "At One Place"
---

# polar bear vs snow leopard

**polar bear vs snow leopard: polar bear leads on 4 of 4 measures**

Measured comparison — not a prediction

The largest living land carnivore, classified as a marine mammal because it hunts from sea ice. A high-altitude cat of Central Asia with a tail almost as long as its body, used for balance. On the measurements below, polar bear leads on more of them — but they do not all point the same way, and the ones that disagree are the interesting part.

## The measurements

|  | polar bear | snow leopard |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mass | 150–700 kg | 22–55 kg |
| Length | 1.8–3 m | 0.9–1.2 m |
| Height | 1–1.6 m | 0.6 m |
| Top speed | 40 km/h | — |
| Bite force | 1,200 psi | — |
| Lifespan | 20–32 yr | 10–21 yr |

## Where each one leads

- Mass: polar bear is 11× heavier.
- Length: polar bear is 2.2× longer.
- Height: polar bear is 2.2× taller.
- Lifespan: polar bear is 2.1× a longer life.

## What this does and does not tell you

These are measured averages with real ranges behind them, and every figure links to its own page. What they cannot do is settle an encounter. Outcomes between animals turn on circumstance — who initiates, whether either is hungry, defending young, injured or cornered, and what the terrain favours. Size and bite force are not decisive on their own, and most of these pairs never meet in the wild in any case, because their ranges do not overlap.

> Every figure here is an average with a substantial spread. Individual animals vary enormously — a large individual of the smaller species routinely exceeds a small individual of the larger one.

## Common questions

### Is a polar bear bigger than a snow leopard?

polar bear is heavier — 150–700 kg against 22–55 kg.

### Who would win, a polar bear or a snow leopard?

That is not something measurements can settle. The comparison above shows which animal leads on each measure, but an actual encounter depends on circumstance, motivation, health and terrain — and most pairs like this never meet in the wild.

## Related pages

- [How much does a polar bear weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/polar-bear/)
- [How much does a snow leopard weigh?](https://atoneplace.net/weight/snow-leopard/)
- [lion vs snow leopard](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-snow-leopard/)
- [lion vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/lion-vs-polar-bear/)
- [leopard vs snow leopard](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-snow-leopard/)
- [leopard vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/leopard-vs-polar-bear/)
- [jaguar vs snow leopard](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/jaguar-vs-snow-leopard/)
- [jaguar vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/jaguar-vs-polar-bear/)
- [cheetah vs snow leopard](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cheetah-vs-snow-leopard/)
- [cheetah vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cheetah-vs-polar-bear/)
- [cougar vs snow leopard](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cougar-vs-snow-leopard/)
- [cougar vs polar bear](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/cougar-vs-polar-bear/)
- [snow leopard vs tiger](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/snow-leopard-vs-tiger/)
- [snow leopard vs spotted hyena](https://atoneplace.net/animal-vs/snow-leopard-vs-spotted-hyena/)

## Sources

- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Smithsonian Institution (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/)
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]