Snow Leopard
Nikon Coolpix P80
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Taken at Mogo Zoo on the south coast of New South Wales, where they have successful breeding programs for several endangered species.
In the wild, these beautiful gray leopards live in the mountains of Central Asia. They are insulated by thick hair, and their wide, fur-covered feet act as natural snowshoes. These cats have powerful legs and are tremendous leapers, able to jump as far as 50 feet (15 meters). Snow leopards use their long tails for balance and as blankets to cover sensitive body parts against the severe mountain chill.
Snow leopards prey upon the blue sheep (bharal) of Tibet and the Himalayas, and mountain ibex found over most of the rest of their range. Though these powerful predators can kill animals three times their weight, they also eat smaller fare, such as marmots, hares, and game birds.
One Indian snow leopard, protected and observed in a national park, is reported to have consumed five blue sheep, nine Tibetan woolly hares, twenty-five marmots, five domestic goats, one domestic sheep, and fifteen birds in a single year.
As these numbers indicate, snow leopards sometimes have a taste for domestic animals, which has led to many deaths of the big cats at the hands of herders.
These endangered cats appear to be in dramatic decline because of such killings, and due to poaching driven by illegal trades in pelts and in body parts used for traditional Chinese medicine. Vanishing habitat and the decline of the cats’ large mammal prey are also contributing factors.
Source : National Geographic.

Mounted Print
Snow Leopard belongs to the following groups:
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Scott d'Almeida
wow awesome,
Baynanno1 replied
That was quick Scott, thanks so much.
I took this on a fairly recent visit to the Zoo with my grandchildren during their school holidays. The Leopard was wide awake and taking quite a lot of interest in what was going on around her. She is so beautiful!
rain-dogs
a truly magnificent creature and beautifully captured….interesting info too
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your lovely comments. She was being quite cooperative on that day, almost talking to us.
Baynanno1 replied
P.S. Thanks also for the fave.
FlowersEtc
Beautiful
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much Ann, she is lovely isn’t she.
GemmaWiseman
What a regal pose! Beautiful!
Baynanno1 replied
Gemma, thanks so much for visiting, commenting and adding this to your favourites. Much appreciation!
Larry Trupp
She is gorgeous Trish, nice work
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your lovely comments Larry. She is stunning.
tkrosevear
A beautiful shot of a gorgeous animal, great narrative too ;) TK ♥
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your comments and fave. Much appreciated.
National Geographic gets the credit for most of the narrative. Trish.
RRoca
Wow…gorgeous capture.
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for your lovely comments. Much appreciated.
FlowersEtc
Your welcome
greenstone
wow!!! stunning shot!
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your wonderful comments.
Luca Renoldi
extraordinary!!
Baynanno1 replied
Luca, thank you so much for your comment.
Trudi's Images
Stunning lighting and capture Baynanno1
Baynanno1 replied
Trudi, thanks so much for your lovely comments and fave of this shot. All the elements were working for me as I talked to her and she responded.
Karen Tillotson
Incredible image…stupendous lighting! Awesome work!!!!
Baynanno1 replied
Karen, thanks so much for your lovely comments and for favouriting this image. I was lucky it all came together on the day.
LYN EVANS
Ohhhhh…what a beauty….what a magnificent animal….and one magnificent capture. Absolutely stunning. Instant fave :-))))
Baynanno1 replied
Lyn, thanks so much for your lovely comments and fave of this shot. She is indeed a beauty and I was extremely lucky with this shot.
Sean Jansen
Stunning !!!
Baynanno1 replied
Sean, thanks so much for your comment and fave of this shot.
EverChanging1
Fabulous capture Trish…A real beauty :o))
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your lovely comments and for favouriting this shot. She certainly is a beautiful animal.
Kymie
Oh wow, just an awesome photo, so beautiful
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for taking the time to look and for your lovely comments. She was quite cooperative for our cameras on that day.
carss66
awesome shot,love it
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for dropping by, your lovely comments and favouriting this shot of the beautiful Snow Leopard are greatly appreciated.
lilian marshall
Wow Tris this is fantastic . Great information as well . I am going to go to our zoo one day .hope I get one as good as this .
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for your lovely comments Lilian.
She was awake and interested, which is more than she has been on previous visits. As with all animals, it’s a combination of patience, luck and …....
Baynanno1 replied
P,S. Thanks for the favourite!
Larry Llewellyn
The Thumbnail image doesn’t do it justice.. This is a truly great shot!
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your lovely comments Larry.
She really was quite cooperative and interested as we talked to her.
Shane Viper
Instant fave B1. Beautiful portrait. Well shot
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much Shane. I was lucky she was awake and sitting at just the right distance for me to frame her face between the mesh of the fence.
Martin Smart
What a beautiful animal! Great shot Trish and a very interesting write-up too!
Baynanno1 replied
She certainly is a beautiful animal. Thanks so much for your lovely comments Martin.
lorilee
A beautiful capture!!!!!!
Baynanno1 replied
Lorilee, thanks so much for your lovely comments.
Isa Rodriguez
stunningly wonderful and beautiful !!!!!!!!!! everything about this gorgeous animal blows my mind.. amazing
Baynanno1 replied
Isa, thank you so much for dropping by to leave such wonderful comments and add this shot to your favourites. Much appreciated. Trish.
kkphoto1
Beautiful cat and capture!
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for dropping by, your lovely comments and fave.
Esther's Art a...
Amazing capture. Perfect !! photography at its best. ;o))
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for your lovely comments and favourite Esther.
There was quite a bit of luck involved on the day. I have never seen her so cooperative before.
MarianBendeth
Just fantastic! love the positioning of the paws too. You should send this to Apple for their new Snow Leopard campaign!
Baynanno1 replied
Marian, thank you so much for your lovely comments and favourite of my Snow Leopard. I’ll check out the Apple Snow Leopard campaign. Thanks. Trish.
Fay270
Magnificent animal and photo.
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks for your lovely comments and favourite of the beautiful Snow Leopard Fay. Thanks also for adding me to your watchlist. Trish.
whalegeek
Very well done! Such a regal yet intimate capture of this great animal. Keep up the swell work! :-)))
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments, for adding this shot to your favourites and me to your watchlist. Trish.
NightPhoenix
Beautifull creatures and excellent capture, i spent some time tracking these in Siberia, i adore this image, well done you!
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving such lovely comments.
Much appreciated.
Kristina K
gorgeous well done :)) k
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your comments. She was very cooperative.
Britta Döll
Congratulations!
Baynanno1 replied
Wow! I’m thrilled to have been featured in this group. Thank you!!
gabbielizzie
congratulations on your feature
Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your congratulations.
E.R. Bazor
Special Featured Art
Your art has been selected for its beauty. It is Featured towards the bottom of the group home page.
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much Estes, I am honoured to have had this shot selected as a special featured work. Thank you, Trish :)
Ruth Lambert
This is a great shot of a Snow Leopard
-not many around even in zoos!!!Baynanno1 replied
Thanks so much for your comments Ruth. She was very cooperative on that day. Trish.
Simone Byrne
Stunning shot, beautiful light and composition, snow leopards are my absolute favourite big cat :))
Baynanno1 replied
Simone, thanks so much for your lovely comments. Many things worked in my favour that day. Trish.
dawndavies
absolutly stunning, such great colour,dawn
Baynanno1 replied
Dawn, thanks so much for your lovely comments, she is a beauty isn’t she.
Ann J. Przyojski
Awesome capture. Outstanding work
Baynanno1 replied
Thank you so much for your lovely comments Ann. Greatly appreciated. Trish.
Cindirelli 27 days ago
Wow-wow & WOW! This cat is absolutely beautiful and what a great story you have told as well. This is a definate fav for me. Viewed larger is breathtaking!!! Excellent portrait ~:)
Baynanno1 replied 15 days ago
Thank you so much for dropping by with such lovely comments on this shot. Much appreciated, Trish.