Snow Leopard

"They call me the ‘ghost of the mountains’, but I must come out of the shadows and speak up this time. Warmer temperatures mean livestock is coming up higher to graze, encroaching on my favourite wild prey’s space and its food. We, snow leopards are shy so we prefer seeing locals, their livestock or hikers from a distance. We’ve no need to haunt or hunt you, but I’m tempted to sneak up on livestock moving in. Healthy habitats would mean more space for my prey to graze and less temptation for me. If we’re happy, so are many other species beneath us on these mountains."

–Svet (Russian name for ‘Light’), snow leopard, Central Asian mountains