Rarely seen
Snow leopards range across an estimated two million square kilometers of high mountains, from the Himalaya to the Altai. They are so elusive that most of what we know comes from camera traps and genetic samples.
Hard to count
No one knows exactly how many remain. Less than 2% of their range has ever been surveyed with reliable methods, so every population estimate carries real uncertainty.
Under pressure
The main threats are well understood: poaching for fur and bone, killing in retaliation for livestock losses, and the decline of the wild sheep and goats they depend on.
Sources: Panthera, Snow Leopard Trust.