BEIJING  –   A tourist was mauled by a rare snow leopard in northwest China the other day after trying to get closer for a photo, ac-cording to authorities and state media. The tourist, a skier, was bitten in Kok-tokay town in China’s Xinjiang region, while on their way back to their hotel, ac-cording to the county’s Forestry and Grassland Bureau. They had spotted the snow leopard – one of the world’s most elusive creatures to see in the wild – gotten out of their vehicle, and ap-proached it to take photos before they were attacked, according to state-owned broadcaster CCTV.

Video footage that circulated on social media shows the tour-ist lying motionless on the snowy ground, with the leopard sitting nearby. In another clip, two bystanders help the injured tour-ist to their feet and toward safety, as they clutch their face below a ski helmet. A voice can be heard asking whether the leopard had left, and one of the bystand-ers replied: “It’s gone.” Further clips show the leopard moving through deep snow in an outdoor area, with trees and boulders in the background. The tourist was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, the forestry bureau said. It add-ed that local authorities have stepped up their safety patrols and public awareness campaigns. “The general public and tour-ists are urged to strictly abide by the safe-ty guidelines, maintain a safe distance when encountering wild animals, and re-port to the police immediately to ensure personal safety,” it said in an online no-tice. Snow leopards, native to Central and South Asia, are a protected spe-cies within China, and a symbol of the country’s mountainous and high-altitude ecosystems. There are only 4,000 to 6,500 of them left world-wide – with 60% of their habitat lo-cated in China, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).