This wasn't the first time that the plight of Snow leopards appeared in the international media. The first photo shots of Snow Leopards in the wild were captured by Dr. George Schaller in Chitral Valley almost 41 years. Here's the text of the article which appeared in Nov 1971 edition. I felt that this article was worth publishing as it also makes us aware of Markhors (the national animal of Pakistan) which are also an endangered specie.
Imperiled Phantom of Asian Peaks
by George Schaller.
National Geographic Magazine November 1971
Suddenly i saw the snow leopard. Wisps of cloud moved between us, and she become a ghost creature, appearing and disappearing as if in a rugged dream. were 120 feet apart on a rugged Pakistani cliff, neither of us moving-two being bound to each other in a world of swirling snow. Thus, last December (1970), i glimpsed one of the rarest and least known of the world's greatest cats.
I had travelled to Chitral district of Nothern West Pakistan to survey it's wildlife - in particular the kashmir Markhor, a rare wild goat. My associate Zahid Beg Mirza of Punjab University, and i also hoped to advise His Highness the Mehtar of Chitral, who was turning his preserve into a sanctuary.
One day i saw leopard tracks in the snow at 11,000 feet. Determined the meet the elusive Panthera Uncia, i began daily quests for fresh paw prints and "calling cards'-urine-splashed rocks or patches of gouged earth.
To entice the leopards i used live goats, but for two weeks the Cats spurned my offerings. Then one morning the wheeling of vultures overhead told me that a goat had been killed. Near the carcass i spied a female leopard on the crest of a spur. She stayed around for a week consuming that goat and several more- and giving me the opportunity to makes these unique photographs.
Camouflaged bheind a rocky parapet, the snow leopard (right) surveys her domain. The cats feed on musk deer, hares, wild sheep, and the Kashmir Markhor (below). In winter, Markhars drops to lower slopes, where forage is more plentiful. There they climb evergreen oaks, teetering along their branches to browse on leathery leaves. The Snow Leopards also descends from the heights in search of prey. In the valleys, the cats find domestic animals an easy mark. here, too, they confront their only serious enemy-man.
The first photo of Snow Leopard captured by Dr. George Schaller.