|
Spotted; Terrestrial Wildlife winner. “At first glance, this might seem like a mother snow leopard (Panthera uncia) playing with her kitten, but a closer look reveals a lack of distinct spots on the cloudy fur of the smaller cat. The smaller, fully grown feline is actually a Pallas’s cat, or manul (Otocolobus manul), a small wildcat whose range across Central Asia overlaps with its better-known cousin. When Donglin Zhou saw a snow leopard stealthily approaching a mother Pallas’ cat on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, he was astonished. “Both species are hard to see at any time”, he said, “let alone together”. (Photo by Donglin Zhou/BigPicture)
|
