Ski selfie turns savage as tourist mauled by snow leopard
A tourist in China was seriously mauled by a snow leopard after she stopped to take a selfie with the animal.
The chilling photo shows the woman smiling beside the big cat, just moments before it unleashed an attack on her.
She was skiing at the Koktokay resort in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region when she came across the animal in the snow.
A tourist in China was seriously mauled by a snow leopard. Pic: James Devaney/Getty Images
A group of onlookers reportedly found the leopard and chose to investigate further.
The woman made the risky decision to approach the beast for a selfie, leading to the vicious attack.
She narrowly escaped death but suffered serious facial injuries.
The chilling photo shows the woman smiling beside the big cat. Pic: X
The snow leopard looked stationary in the photo, though it was apparently preparing to pounce.
Videos shared on social media show that the predator left her sprawled motionless in the snow, while it sat calmly beside her.
Others watching on reported that the leopard savaged the woman’s face and came seriously close to dragging its fangs across her head.
The leopard came seriously close to dragging its fangs across her head. Pic: James Devaney/WireImage
However, the woman’s skiing helmet appears to have saved her from a worse fate, as per The Mirror.
A ski instructor reportedly came to her rescue, scaring away the leopard by brandishing his poles and pushing it back into the snowy wilderness.
One video shows onlookers then rushing to help the woman, who was notably bleeding. She was visibly holding her face, with her gloves and jacket, which were marked with more blood.
The woman was transported to the Fuyun County People’s Hospital, where she is in a stable state. Medical staff at the hospital confirmed that she had not suffered life-threatening injuries.
Regional officials stated they had issued a sequence of safety alerts for skiers following multiple snow leopard encounters.
They outlined the ‘strong aggressive tendencies’ of the big cats, with the resort attracting up to one million visitors annually.
They warned: ‘Recently, snow leopard activity has been detected in Gem Valley, Keketuohai. Snow leopards are large predators with strong aggressive tendencies.
‘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.’
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