Snow leopard, Uchkul River, Sarychat-Ertash State Nature Reserve, Tien Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan

© Sebastian Kennerknecht/Minden Pictures

Snow leopard, Uchkul River, Sarychat-Ertash State Nature Reserve, Tien Shan Mountains, 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 by, a perfect selfie.

Since it’s National Cat Day, we’ll share some cheerful news. 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.