‘Vulnerable’ Snow Leopard Tries to Bite Camera in Kyrgyzstan Animal Center

An inquisitive snow leopard wraps its jaws around a researcher’s camera. The feline lives in an animal rehabilitation center in Kyrgyzstan. Scientists have been keeping their eyes on more than a dozen members of the vulnerable species in the Kyrgyz mountains. Snow leopards face plenty of threats. Snow leopard ecologist Koustubh Sharma says these include “conflict, poaching, and illegal wildlife trade, to emerging threats such as poorly planned infrastructure, mining, destruction of habitat.”