Rare pictures emerge of a snow leopard with her cub

Scientists have managed to film the rare and endangered snow leopard resting with her cub in Mongolia.

After months of searching, an international research team discovered the den sites of two female snow leopards.
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The den where the snow leopard and her cub was filmed. Credit: The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

The team - who had been tracking the animals in the South Gobi desert since 2008 - filmed the female snow leopard in her den. She had a paw over her tiny cub.
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A team of scientists discovered the snow leopard with her cub in Mongolia. Credit: The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

At the second den, the scientists found two male cubs in a narrow crack in a cliff wall and took close-up photos of the animals when their mother was out hunting.

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One of the snow leopard cubs discovered in Mongolia. Credit: The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Brad Rutherford, Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust, said the footage was "incredible".

This is incredible. Snow leopards are so rare and elusive that people often talk about them as ‘ghosts’ of the mountains.

This is the first documented visit of a den site with cubs and thanks to this video we can share it with the world.

The snow leopard is an endangered animal with only around 4,000 thought to be left in the wild.

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