Snow leopard - Skier interaction

[Tricia]

@Nobody posted this on Facebook and I had to share it here.
An Australian skier (Owen Lansbury) was with a guide in Gulmarg and had a close interaction with a snow leopard.

As he accounts the story on Facebook with the video of the incident.

OK – so the story is we skied our first powder line and the guide in yellow almost ran over the leopard.
I stopped just as it huddled in the snow, where it stayed for about a minute checking us out. It then let out a solid roar and bounded away down the slope towards Dave, but scooted off into the forest, where we think it probably had a kill stashed. Pretty amazing experience!​

I bet the snow leopard was more freaked out than the skiers were. Either way, this is a very interesting interaction with wildlife.

Here is the full length video.

 

[Nobody]

Ehe, I did find the article interesting, not only per se, but also because of the parallels that I might face here where I ski. In the past years, bears and wolves sightings have become frequent, for now in the summertimes only, but if the wild population keeps increasing, who knows, we might end up facing a just woken from its winter sleep bear...a roaming wolf, not to mention the odd lynx...
As for deers, been there done that, albeit not while skiing, rather while driving at night up and down the mountains roads. The poor animals have to cross the main road to reach the river and drink water. Sometimes a connection between cars and deers occur. I had the luxury to see a couple of those one night, scared of my car noise and lights. Luckily they did not decide to cross the road, rather to escape back in the woods.

 

[Monique]

I had the luxury to see a couple of those one night, scared of my car noise and lights. Luckily they did not decide to cross the road, rather to escape back in the woods.

The rule of thumb I learned in Virginia: If you see one deer, there are two more you can't see. They are EVERYWHERE in that area. My husband had to perform evasive maneuvers last summer in North Carolina when a deer ran across a major highway. I still can't believe we didn't hit it. It's a different sort of danger than a leopard, to be sure.

Definitely a different type of scary than encountering a large predator while out in the woods.

 

[pete]

The rule of thumb I learned in Virginia: If you see one deer, there are two more you can't see. They are EVERYWHERE in that area. My husband had to perform evasive maneuvers last summer in North Carolina when a deer ran across a major highway. I still can't believe we didn't hit it. It's a different sort of danger than a leopard, to be sure.

Definitely a different type of scary than encountering a large predator while out in the woods.

Found the story but more so video great.

luck or skill were on your hubby's side. Typically the advice is not to try and swerve, stop yes but evasive maneuvers can lead to lost control with unintended results ... trees, ditches, other cars.

However I'll give you that your hubby's has tremendous reflexes. My kid experienced a suicidal deer this last late summer. Came from no-where putting around $7500 in damage. Police said ... "that's a big buck". Sadly it was mid week, after 10PM and neither I nor any friends, neighbors nor the police had interest in claiming the poor thing. Sad really, didn't see him but all accounts a magnificent creature that just didn't time things right.

 

[Monique]

Found the story but more so video great.

luck or skill were on your hubby's side. Typically the advice is not to try and swerve, stop yes but evasive maneuvers can lead to lost control with unintended results ... trees, ditches, other cars.

However I'll give you that your hubby's has tremendous reflexes. My kid experienced a suicidal deer this last late summer. Came from no-where putting around $7500 in damage. Police said ... "that's a big buck". Sadly it was mid week, after 10PM and neither I nor any friends, neighbors nor the police had interest in claiming the poor thing. Sad really, didn't see him but all accounts a magnificent creature that just didn't time things right.

He has a gamer's reflexes and has taken performance driving courses (I really need to do that ...). He's also avoided a moose on the Mugollon Rim in the snow. The NC incident is particularly impressive because it was in a rental car. I don't actually recall if he slammed on the brakes or swerved, to be honest. Just that it looked like that deer was practically on top of us, but somehow no collision. I of course had been fiddling with my phone or something.

 

[Ken_R]

A few years back I almost hit a VERY large deer while driving before dawn to the airport near Kalispell, Montana. I was doing about 60 and luckily the deer did not stop crossing. It was close. I should have known better than be going the speed limit at that hour. Northern Montana is full of large animals...

 

[AmyPJ]

Cool video! I love stuff like this. It's all about being out in nature!

 

[Read Blinn]

Boy, that would be a thrill!

(It would be a thrill skiing in that much snow, too, have to say.)

 

[oldschoolskier]

Not sure which I would fear more, snow leopard at 70lbs or moose at 1000lbs plus?

 

[Tricia]

For me, the Moose would be more scary to encounter.

 

[Tricia]

Boy, that would be a thrill!

(It would be a thrill skiing in that much snow, too, have to say.)

Snow is coming to Tahoe again. Come visit!!

 

[Read Blinn]

Gosh, would that be possible. Not happening, unfortunately. But thanks!

 

[pete]

A few years back I almost hit a VERY large deer while driving before dawn to the airport near Kalispell, Montana. I was doing about 60 and luckily the deer did not stop crossing. It was close. I should have known better than be going the speed limit at that hour. Northern Montana is full of large animals...

6-7 yrs ago a buddy whose encounter left just a hoof imprint (sized right) on the roof just behind the windshield. He and his wife thought the thing was going through the windshield, deer jumped up high, lucky they drove their sedan that day.