Just after dawn in northern India's Hemis National Park a snow leopard steps silently down the mountainside The ghostly cat's coat hides it from the bharal BUH rawl that dot the rocky ledges These sure footed mountain dwelling sheep are wary of snow leopards but they do not see this one approaching The summer sun has brought plant life to the area and the sheep take advantage scraping
moss from the surface of the rocks They nibble the stitchwort and saxifrage that struggle to grow around jagged boulders The snow leopard tracks one of the smaller bharal slipping behind a boulder each time the sheep glances up from its meal Suddenly the snow leopard pounces on the bharal's back crushing the animal's spine The snow leopard will drag its kill back up the mountain to bury it in the snow a meal that will last several days
