A curious snow leopard realised it was on camera while stalking sheep in Hemis National Park in Ladakh, India, and set itself up on a nearby ridge to watch the cameraman.

The big cat stands staring curiously for a few minutes before lying down to watch from a more comfortable position.

The filmer, Mark Andrews had been watching the leopard stalking its prey for some time before it disappeared over a ridge, only to reappear on a much closer hillside to watch Andrews' filming.

Snow leopards are highly endangered and elusive creatures and are rarely caught on film. Locally, they are known as 'Grey Ghosts' for their ability to quickly disappear into the hills.

We'd been watching a wild Snow Leopard stalking Blue Sheep in Hemis National Park in Ladakh when it suddenly disappeared over the top of a ridge. Despite scanning all adjacent slopes, the Grey Ghost as their known had vanished. I suddenly caught something out of the corner of my eye, much closer than we'd been looking and was surprised to find this magnificent cat watching us.
That moment you realise a Snow Leopard is watching you from close range. Filmed in 4K video on 9th March 2018 at Rumbak, Hemis NP, Ladakh using a Swarovski ATX95, TLS Apo 23mm & Panasonic Lumix GH4.