Continuing with my trip to the mountains of India, here are more snow leopard images. Our trip was to the mountainous Ladakh Territory which borders Pakistan and China. I flew to the capital city of Leh and spent several days sightseeing and adjusting to the 11,000-foot altitude.
We then moved into the heart of snow leopard country staying in a village where ecotourism, specifically snow leopard tours, are becoming a cash supplement to the limited farming and herding of the area. Villagers run small lodges and our tour company employs local herders as spotters. Each day they search for leopards and receive daily pay, plus bonuses when they find an animal for guests. Previously, these men would have killed leopards on sight to protect their herd and livelihood.
Searching for five days, we were fortunate to find and photograph two cats. Days were spent exploring some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world. Finding cats was a bonus to the entire experience.
Travel all the way to India to photograph a cat? Oh, it was so worth it. What I have not mentioned previously is we also searched for, and found, the very rare Himalayan Brown Bear. Stay tuned for future pictures of those.
Blending in
Ghost cat resting
Photographer Chris and painter Robin Rohwer each week share a painting or photograph that captured their interest in hopes that it will also capture yours. They have a small studio and gallery in the Phoenix Building at 418 South Gay Street where you can stop and see their work. Their website is www.ChristopherRobinArts.com. All works are copyright protected.