A snow leopard cub is seen in the wildlife zoo in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 10, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), one of the world's most mysterious big cats, is native to the snow-capped mountains in central and southern Asia, inhabiting the Himalayas for 2 million years as a top predator.
The global population of snow leopards has been decreasing due to factors such as climate change, poaching, habitat fragmentation, and less prey. The endangered cat is a Class A protected animal in China and classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
October 23 marks the International Snow Leopard Day, a global call to action for protection of the "King of the Snowy Mountains."
Photo taken on June 16, 2017 shows a snow leopard cub in bushes in Gaduo Township of Chengduo County under Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Jiangyong Tudeng)
Photo taken on June 16, 2017 shows a snow leopard cub in bushes in Gaduo Township of Chengduo County under Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Jiangyong Tudeng)
A snow leopard is seen in an undated infrared photo taken in Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
A snow leopard is captured by infrared camera on Dec. 30, 2016 in Wolong National Nature Reserve, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)
A snow leopard gazes at a lake at the source of the Yellow River in northwest China's Qinghai, Oct. 5, 2019. New progress has been made in the investigation of snow leopards in the Yellow River source, according to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). (World Wide Fund for Nature/Handout via Xinhua)
Photo taken on Oct. 8, 2014 shows the wild snow leopard cubs in Ali prefecture of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Ge Qingmin)
