Coat of arms of North Ossetia-Alania
Encyclopedia
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of South Asia and Central Asia...
passant or with sable spots on a ground or with as background seven mountains argent (i.e. a red disk with a golden snow leopard with black spots standing on a golden ground and with seven white mountains in the background). The mountains on the seal symbolize the Ossetian landscape, while the snow leopard is an iconic (but now seriously endangered) inhabitant of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
mountains.
The coat of arms was adopted by the republic on November 24, 1994. A very similar coat of arms was adopted by the Republic of South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
in May 1998.