Passion for snow leopards shines through lens

In June 2018, Luo joined Lyu in Shiqu along with three Tibetan assistants. They ventured to a desolate mountain ridge at an altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level, where they set up camp. On the morning of their second day, two guides set out to search for snow leopards.

Half an hour later, the third guide, who stayed with Luo and Lyu, gestured to them that he had found something on the ridge they faced. "He couldn't speak Mandarin and we couldn't understand Tibetan," Luo said. "Searching the ridge through our cameras, we saw nothing."

It wasn't until Derin Drondrup, a Mandarin-speaking Tibetan guide, returned that they were informed that a snow leopard had appeared on the ridge about 150 meters from their position, but had walked to another side of the ridge. To catch a glimpse of the elusive animal, they would have to ascend further up the slope. By then, the snow leopard was long gone, probably disturbed by their presence. After spending six nights and seven days on the mountain, Luo failed to see the animal.

Undeterred, he returned to Shiqu in July, where he camped on the mountain and had his initial encounter with a snow leopard. "The cat was probably 600 meters from me, and I only had five seconds to snap some pictures," he said. "The sighting left me very excited."