Snow Leopard Investigates a Scented Boulder
In these three camera-trap photographs a wild snow leopard notices a scent mark on a nearby rock and investigates. The two photos
at the top of the page were taken at the same instant by a two-camera trap (see How Do Snow Leopards Take Their Own Photographs?).
The photo on the left was taken by the camera hidden in the cairn you see at the bottom right corner of the photo on the right. Likewise, the photo on the
right was taken by a camera hidden in the cairn you see in the photo on the left. Notice how well camoflaged this snow leopard is; it’s hard to distinguish it
from the rocky background even at this short distance, isn’t it?
In the bottom photo, which was taken almost a month after the others, the same cat has returned to investigate the scent-marked rock. Scent marks and scrapes are ways in which snow leopards keep track of who’s who and who’s where.