Even though this species is seeing its population decrease today, this nickname has not come about because of the small number of individuals, but because of its legendary discretion, making it almost invisible in its natural habitat. This leopard can be found at between 500 and 5,800m altitude in the Himalayan range. Between cleared forests and impassable rock faces, its ability to go unnoticed, even for the sharpest of eyes, has made the snow leopard one of the most secretive and enigmatic animals on Earth.
The presence of this animal with its closely-guarded behaviour tells us about the ecosystem’s state of health. If the snow leopard population is growing, that shows that its habitat is in good health. The same habitats that with their sources of drinking water nourish almost a third of the world’s population.
