Assassins stealthy wild sheep in the Himalayas

I was almost invisible after the cliff, patiently waiting to enter my sights to grab the bait but unfortunately was discovered by the target.

Wildlife photographer Inger Vandyke takes pictures of the Himalayan wild sheep that practice on the steep cliffs in Ladakh, India but in the frame there is a snow leopard that is cleverly stealthy to prey on, Sun yesterday reported . The sheep deliberately detected the snow leopard as soon as it jumped and attacked safely.

Picture 1 of Assassins stealthy wild sheep in the Himalayas
The snow leopard hid himself from the wild sheep.(Photo: Inger Vandyke).

The lone male leopard is difficult to recognize because it hides behind the flock of sheep, patiently waiting for the most appropriate moment to grab the prey. Body color helps snow leopard become almost invisible when hiding behind rocks and grass dust.

"When I look at this photo, I often wonder how much we have passed through the field without discovering it. They are really camouflage masters. Snow leopard are hunters. By sneaking prey and this photo reveals how well they hide themselves while waiting for their prey to come in. Although hiding himself successfully, 8 out of 10 snow leopard hunts will end in failure, simply because The Himalayas have very difficult terrain to survive , " Vandyke said.

"As a top predator in the living area, snow leopard must be very careful to avoid being injured when hunting because if they are injured, they can quickly die. The prey like the Himalayan wild sheep are very wary of jaguars. If they make warning signs like hoofing or whistling, you'll know there's a snow leopard nearby, " Vandyke said.

Picture 2 of Assassins stealthy wild sheep in the Himalayas
The cover of the snow leopard.

According to Vandyke, before that snow leopard had been hunting another flock of wild sheep, this was its second unsuccessful hunt. On its face there are some wounds, resulting in mating with a female.