AKIPRESS.COM - The snow leopard with four healthy looking cubs was noticed by Mongolian shepherds who cooperate with local WWF in an effort to study and protect the endangered cat, The Siberian Times reported.

This brilliant image was taken by a team member of WWF Mongolia, who told The Siberian Times: ‘The mountain where we saw the four cubs is several hundred miles away from Mongolia’s border with Russia.

'The four cubs were observed from a safe distance as they played, slept and stretched under the sun while mother was away hunting.’

Another picture was taken by a local wildlife photographer, explorer and tour guide Otgonbayar Baatargal, who was lucky to catch the moment of the mother resting with the cubs.

Snow leopards normally bear one or two cubs, rarely three. 

To see a mother with four cubs, and to be able to watch them relaxing in natural habitat was a true gift, said specialists of Mongolian WWF.

This is the second confirmed case of a snow leopard having such a big litter.

The first one was recorded by WWF Mongolia’s photo traps in September 2016.