PLAYFUL SNOW LEOPARD ROLLS DOWN STEEP MOUNTAINS IN RARE SEEN<br />WITH PIX AND VID<br />By Shuk Yee Tsang<br />Checkout this rare wildlife moment that shows a snow leopard sliding down a steep mountain slope.<br />The footage was captured in Spiti Valley, India by professional wildlife photographer Remi Vacher, 36, originally from France but now based in Dubai, UAE.<br />In the video, the elusive big cat suddenly commits to the descent and slides down the snowy mountainside, using gravity while adjusting its balance with its long tail.<br />The 36-year-old shares the behaviour was extremely unusual and something he had never witnessed before.<br />Remi said the leopard was around 500 metres away when the moment unfolded.<br />The photographer had spent hours waiting after hearing early that morning that a snow leopard had been spotted resting near a cave high in the mountains.<br />He explains moments like these are what wildlife photographers live for.<br />Remi said, “At that distance, you’re fully dependent on your long lens and your ability to anticipate movement.<br />“My heart was racing. I remember telling myself: stay on it, don’t lose focus, keep tracking.<br />" Because with snow leopards, everything happens in seconds and then it’s gone.<br />“In all my time searching for snow leopards, this was the first time I had ever seen one move like that.<br />“They are usually very controlled in their movements, walking along ridgelines or sitting still for long periods.<br />“We waited for hours in the cold hoping she would move.<br />“Then around 2PM she finally stood up and started walking toward deep snow and that’s when the magic happened.<br />“As a wildlife photographer, those are the moments you live for when behaviour, landscape and emotion collide for just a few seconds.”<br />END
