Rare Footage of Wild Snow Leopard Cubs

A remote-sensor camera in Mongolia has captured extremely rare footage of three tiny, endangered snow leopard cubs and their mother at a watering hole in their rugged mountain habitat.

Famously elusive, the snow leopard is perhaps the most mysterious of the big cats. Local people refer to the shy feline as the “Ghost of the Mountain”. Photo and video footage of wild snow leopards is still rare — and wild cubs are a particularly uncommon sight.

Now, with a remote-sensor research camera deployed in Mongolia’s Tost mountains, the international conservation group Snow Leopard Trust has managed to take stunning images of three cubs and their mother as they came to a watering hole for a drink.

There are only between 4000 and 7000 snow leopards left in the wild. Poaching, retaliation killings by livestock herders, and habitat loss have driven this cat to the brink of extinction.

The Snow Leopard Trust is dedicated to saving this endangered cat in its natural habitat in the mountains of Central Asia through scientific researc and community-based conservation initiatives.

Remote-sensor research cameras are an important tool to determine population sizes and dynamics as well as behavior of the elusive cat — data that informs effective conservation strategies.

To learn more about the snow leopard, visit www.snowleopard.org.