Snow leopard

In the high mountains of Central Asia, lives a cat so elusive that it is extremely difficult to even shoot it  snow leopard, snow leopard .Up until 2004, when the famous canal BBS showed a feature film about hunting snow leopards. For people who were able to photograph the snow leopard, it was the beginning of love for this beast. Snow leopard have dignify mystical beast icon wasteland.

 How many of them left on the planet, as if no one knows. Snow Leopard Red Book World tagging the species threatened with extinction. There are even fears that the animals die before they can be counted. After harsh winter in the mountains, and their peaks - are dangerous. But ounce feels like home, on the dangerous slopes. Spots on the head and body excellent camouflage, and huge paws and a long tail of the beast insured under the most dangerous maneuvers.

Ounce or snow leopard - the wild cat , whose length including the tail reaches more than two meters. Resembles a leopard , but more squat, fur is long, thick and soft. Basic color - usually a light gray, almost white with smoky patina. Very long tail is three-quarters of the elongated body.

This creature is rumored that gives the human mind, it is referred to the other world. Altai Mountains is filled with myths and legends. For millennia, he watched the movements of the Huns, the Turkic tribes of Mongolian nomads, Slavic pioneers. For local residents of their region - a living creature.

In these places, inhabited by   leopards, snow leopards , a mysterious creature whose life so far little is known. Today, in the Altai area of around 260,000 square kilometers, these predators there are only less than 50 individuals. And each year, the probability of meeting with this beast all reduced. But until now, Irbis, snow leopard - the main character, which tells the legend of Gorny Altai .

It happened in ancient times. Wonderful animal Manna, like centennial cedar gave birth to seven sons spirits cat, wolverine, badger, lynx, leopard, tiger and lion . At the time, she lived in the Altai great beauty, the daughter of the leader of the Scythian tribes. People called her Altai Princess. Once she collected in the forest herbs.Suddenly, a young man walked into the clearing, his hair was white as snow, and his eyes were  clear as rock crystal. On the shoulders of the young men had been thrown over the white coat. Long fluffy tail dragging on the ground ... It took a few months. Princess saw a young man almost every day. They walked together in the mountains. Altai Princess love with a young man at first sight. He talked about the habits of beautiful animals, showing unidentified herbs and hidden trails. The girl thought that someone accompany them, trying to go unnoticed. One day she asked about his companion. The young man frowned and said that no one should see this being that his mother nagging him Manna. But she begged, and the young man decided to trust her. He turned toward the thicket and promyaukal a cat. Thick branches moved, and the clearing out the huge snow-white cat with wings on their backs. It was she who guarded his master and his companion, then hiding behind the rocks, then flying up to the mountain tops.

Every day, young people are increasingly aware that they can no longer live without each other. They gave each other an oath of love and fidelity. Meanwhile, the princess's father found her fiance, a noble warrior from a neighboring tribe. But the princess said that she already has a lover. Scythian chieftain angry. He decided to track down and kill her spouse with her daughter. Woman locked up, and her beloved staged hunt. But the boy could not find, but accidentally killed two leopards, and their skins are brought to the village. The girl recognized with horror robe worn by her lover. In desperation, the princess fled to the mountains. Its been looking for, and when found, it became clear that she lost her mind. A lot of time passed before the princess came to. She said that she engaged and never get married. She wrapped herself in a white skin, and left. No one knew where she was and who she met on the way. They say she has long studied with some shaman hermit his strange art.

The years passed. In the mountains, a strange creature - a big white cat. People called it the Irbis. Said that it is the very young man, the son of the beast Manna. Princess perfume helped conjure source. She dropped into his skin lover, and he revived. But since then, no longer able to take human form. And always remained leopard. And the princess lived in these parts for many years. People recognize it as their main shaman and, before settling for a regular nomadic, asked to negotiate with the spirits of the mountains, with the spirits of cats that guarded the passes. Nomads did not want leopard attacked their horses. Princess helps people. She could itself become a cat to go to his betrothed. She was the only person.

Altai Princess mummy was found by archaeologists Novosibirsk. The body of the Princess was well embalmed and preserved entirely in permafrost.

Many peoples of the Altai still believe that their ancestor was a snow leopard.

Snow leopard - dweller highlands. Usually it is found at an altitude of 2000-4000 meters above sea level. In the Himalayas, the predator seen even at 5 and a half miles. Keeps ounce about the perpetual snows of rocks and stony placers. Its main prey - mountain sheep and goats. An elongated body with short legs well adapted for movement on the mountain slopes.

 Snow leopard, snow leopard   beast single. He arranges his lair in caves and crevices between the stones. But he often travels through the mountains after the herds of ungulates.