A snow leopard has left a tourist at a popular Xinjiang ski destination who wanted to take close-up photos of the animal with severe wounds to her face, according to local media reports on Saturday (Jan 24).

A woman hitting the slopes in Fuyun County, northern China, is said to have got within 10ft of the animal in a bid to get the best angle before it attacked.

The endangered big cats are hanging on in Russia, the first country-wide survey of the animal suggests, while scientists and conservationists debate future protections.

Santa Barbara Zoo is hosting its annual Snow Leopard Festival this February with its new resident, Layan, who arrived in December 2025.

Local authorities in Fuyun County, Altay Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said in a statement on Friday that a skiing tourist was injured in a snow leopard attack while returning to a hotel on Friday evening.

Cold warnings continue to blanket the province, and zoo manager Jeff Mitchell says all of the animals have indoor habitats they can escape to if they don't adapt well to Saskatchewan's winter.