Status
Critically Endangered
Habitat
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
Range
Asia
Group
Big Cats
The rarest big cat alive, and a genuine near-miss with extinction.
In the early 2000s the count fell to around thirty animals. Cross-border protected areas, anti-poaching patrols and habitat linkage have since roughly tripled that. It remains one of the most fragile large-mammal populations on earth.
Its coat is longer and paler than other leopards — an adaptation to snow that also makes it one of the most sought-after skins on the black market. Every recovered animal is a policy result, not an accident.
Frames in the archive
Full gallery
Snow Forest
Land of the Leopard — remote trigger.
