Snow leopard in the Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan

© Sebastian Kennerknecht/Minden Pictures

Snow leopard in the Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan

Hello, kitty! This elusive snow leopard had its close-up in the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan. In Chinese, Tian Shan means Celestial Mountains and this feline is truly a star, with its powerful legs, smoky grey fur and large paws. The image was taken by a camouflaged remote camera equipped with a sensor to detect motion – our leopard activated the camera’s shutter simply by ambling past for a perfect selfie. Snow leopards were recently upgraded from ‘endangered’ status to ‘vulnerable’ by conservationists who study their populations. Hopefully this means we’ll see many more snow leopard selfies to come.