A female skier was mauled by a snow leopard after getting too close to try to take a photograph, with a chilling video capturing her being led away with blood pouring from her face.
The footage shows the victim lying prone in the snow wearing a purple ski suit after the animal mauled her on Friday evening in Fuyun county at the northern Chinese border with Mongolia.
She is then seen being taken away from the scene with blood pouring from her face.
The tourist had spotted the rare big cat in the snow and had gotten to within three metres of it to take a picture, according to reports in China.
A ski instructor eventually chased the snow leopard away by waving his poles.
The victim was saved from more serious injuries by her ski helmet, but still had to be rushed to a local hospital, where she was said to be in a stable condition.
A snow leopard attacked a skier in rural China. Picture: Jam Press
It comes as Chinese authorities have issued a warning to visitors of multiple recent snow leopard sightings in the area.
“Snow leopards are large predators with strong aggressive tendencies,” the warning said. “When passing through this area, please move quickly and do not linger. Do not get out of your vehicle or approach to take photos, and never walk alone in the surrounding area.”
The visitor had been staying near the Keketuohai UNESCO Global Geopark in Xinjiang.
A snow leopard had been spotted by visitors close to a nearby guesthouse on Thursday to try and get food, according to reports.
TThe tourist was filmed being led away with blood pouring from her face. Picture: Jam Press
She got a bit too close to the leopard while trying to take a photo of it. Picture: Jam Press
“We saw it last night, a few kilometres from where the attack took place, but we can’t confirm if it’s the same snow leopard,” the owner of the guesthouse said.
China is home to around 60 per cent of the world’s wild snow leopard population, although only 4000 to 6500 of the creatures are believed to remain worldwide, according to the Snow Leopard Trust.
Snow leopard attacks on humans are extremely rare due to the creature’s shy and elusive nature.