Caught on camera - entire family of snow leopards

The endangered cats plainly feel happy in their natural habitat but snow leopards were spotted here for the first time from footprints only as recently as March 2015.

Senior wildlife official Alyona Maikova said: 'Our inspectors have been using camera traps in their work for just a little more than one year, but the results are impressive. We have sighted at least four snow leopards living in the nature park.'

She described the pictures of the two adults and two cubs as 'just amazing'. The images were made as part of a census of a species believed to have no more than 2,500 adults in the wild capable of mating. 

The survey was initiated in 2016 by the WWF in the Siberian Republics of Altai and Buryatia. The snow leopard is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

The unique footage is seen as a sign of the recovery of the species.