Snow leopards are powerful and beautiful big cats, native to the mountains of central Asia. Insulated by thick hair and possessing wide, fur-covered feet that act as natural snowshoes, they are well adapted to their environment. Their long tails, which help in maintaining their incredible balance, double as blankets against severe cold.
The harsh conditions of the snow leopard’s natural habitat makes the animal hard to study, so researchers and wildlife experts and photographers plant recording devices near snow leopard ranges in hopes of getting some footage of them. Recently, one photographer got extremely lucky.
In February of this year, Matse Rangja found 30 seconds of video of a snow leopard on one of the cameras he’d hidden in China’s Burhan Budai Mountains. This is only the second time in eight years that he’s been able to capture the cat on film.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, about 4,000 snow leopards remain. They are currently in dramatic decline because of killings by herders, who see the cats as threats to their domestic animals; poaching, driven by illegal trades in pelts and in body parts used for traditional medicines; vanishing habitats; and declining mammal prey.
Watch Matse Rangja’s rare footage below. Then, read about the Snow Leopard Trust. The organization works with traditional herders who live with centuries-old customs to pioneer methods for living in harmony with snow leopards, in the world they share.
Here’s to finding your true places and natural habitats,
A multiple award-winning author and writer specializing in nature-travel topics and environmental issues, Candice has traveled around the world, from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, and from New Zealand to Scotland's far northern, remote regions. Her assignments have been equally diverse, from covering Alaska’s Yukon Quest dogsled race to writing a history of the Galapagos Islands to describing and photographing the national snow-sculpting competition in her former home state of Wisconsin.
In addition to being a five-time book author, Candice's work has also appeared in several national and international publications, such as "The Huffington Post" and "Outside Magazine Online."
Phillip Tureck - FRGS
on March 28, 2013 at 5:45 am
Excellent news Candice – one more Snow Leopard than we knew about
Continued work at the conservation society for this magnificent animal http://www.catsurvivaltrust.org
Thank-you for sharing this video. Snow leopards are one of my favorite animals and it is not easy to find video footage of them. I loved that he put his face right up to the camera, just gorgeous. Thanks again!
incredible, been following this story for a couple decades, incredible animals, amazing footage, thanks for sharing. awesome walked right up to the camera and stick its nose to it.
Thanks for posting this video of this beautiful, and very endangered, big cat. I am fortunate in being able to see one up close and personal in Cat Canyon at the San Diego Zoo..but I don’t want to see them disappear from the wild.
Together, Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund have teamed up to arrange nearly 100 nature travel experiences around the planet, while helping to protect the magnificent places we visit and their wild inhabitants.
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CUTE
Excellent news Candice – one more Snow Leopard than we knew about
Continued work at the conservation society for this magnificent animal
http://www.catsurvivaltrust.org
Amazing animal!
wonderful close up footage, have shared widely.
Very nice! Majestic animal.
Very nice short video, looks like he went right up to the camera.
A gorgeous and curious big cat! Thanks for sharing.
Thank-you for sharing this video. Snow leopards are one of my favorite animals and it is not easy to find video footage of them. I loved that he put his face right up to the camera, just gorgeous. Thanks again!
Hey Candice, this is very cool! Thanks for sharing it, I love that Snow Leopard,,, he is so cute:)
Beautiful video of a beautiful animal
thanks for sharing! SO CUTE:))
incredible, been following this story for a couple decades, incredible animals, amazing footage, thanks for sharing. awesome walked right up to the camera and stick its nose to it.
utterly magic moment. The eyes have it!
Great job. Thank you, Candice!
Isn’t curiosity a brilliant thing to have in common with such a beautiful creature?
pretty cool
Thanks for posting this video of this beautiful, and very endangered, big cat. I am fortunate in being able to see one up close and personal in Cat Canyon at the San Diego Zoo..but I don’t want to see them disappear from the wild.
Congratulations on your continued excellent work for snow leopards.
Thank you, Candice!
very nice. a great job.