Photo: screenshot of China News on Sina Weibo.

 

A snow leopard was found resting idly among dozens of sheep in the Aksu region of Northwest China's Uygur Autonomous Region after it had sneaked into a sheepfold and killed 19 of them. 

"The snow leopard got in through a hole on top of the sheepfold," said the shepherd in a video posted online Saturday. "The sheepfold had been attacked by wolves before, so we reinforced the fence, but we did not expect the leopard to come down from the top."

"I found the leopard when I came to check the sheep the next morning," the shepherd said, "We stood there eye to eye, and I was terrified."

When the shepherd counted the remaining sheep, he found that the snow leopard had killed a total of 19 sheep and bitten another 11. A Weibo user joked, "It seems that the leopard has come here for a free buffet." Other netizens worried about the sheep commented,  "The sheep must have had a nervous and sleepless night."

The snow leopard is a Class A protected animal in China. After receiving the alarm from the shepherd, the local police station together with the forestry bureau released the snow leopard back into the wild.

Global Times