Paw prints in snow point the way to the snow leopard

she hides in plain sight, her camouflage makes her a ghost

on these rocky mountain trails – we track her, to no avail

we only want a glimpse of this mythic creature

catch her on film + show her to the world in all her feline glory –

the stories of locals add to her legend

we walk for miles over many months

when we finally see her, we witness an apparition,

only to fade into the wilderness + white peaks of Chinese terrain.

(Photo source: © Mohammad Osama / WWF-Pakistan)

Note: This poem was inspired by a nature documentary Rachel and I recently watched on Netflix called Ghost of the Mountains. A team of filmmakers track the snow leopard in the mountains of China in the documentary, enduring brutal weather and high altitudes in an attempt to capture the creature on film. We highly recommend the movie!