Autobiography of a Snow Leopard The glacier was golden in the evening sun. Melted- water flowed from hundreds of tiny rivulets beneath the ice. The water was a pure, sparkling blue and I could hear it’s muted roar amidst the mountain silence. I stood at the source of the RumbakRiver with my chest up and my chin facing towards the sky. As the sun set, the few thin strips of clouds on the horizon turned shimmering gold. I closed my eyes. 
I evoked my childhood memories. My mother and my twin brothers, what a perfect family it was! But everything is ruined. The humans- they not only ripped my family apart, but they also wrenched my home! We were young snow leopard cubs. I was the eldest cub, my twin brothers after me. We loved our mother. She gave us our favourite delicacies, blue sheep, and argali. We used to cuddle together, roll on her stomach and enjoy ourselves to the fullest. My mother would never leave us alone. She followed us everywhere we went. Nobody can ever be more compromising, nurturing, compassionate and protective than her. My brothers were absolutely different with contrasting characters but identical looks. While one was mischievous, capricious and athletic, the other was timid, passive and servile. 
Nothing could have been better but this one day changed our life. The wind was howling and the snow pierced through our fur. The cloak of snow grew thicker and thicker on the mountainside. My mother and me forced our way out of the storm. Unfortunately, my brothers could not make it through the blinding blizzard. Since then, I had only my mom. We wandered around togetherand enjoyed each other’s company. We shared the same hobbies and interest. Grooming was our favourite! We were cautious about our looks and cleanliness. We were fit leopards, and walked a lot. The yellow sweet- scented flowers were our favorites. We lived for each other. I like to look good. I’ve always wanted to be “Miss Himalaya”, the prettiest of them all. 
I work quite hard towards my goal. My diet is ‘blue sheep’ which make my skin glow. I walk 60 kilometers a day, 30 extra kilometers than a normal leopard to have a thin body. My dream is to look at myself in a reflection of still water because here in the Himalayas there are only gushing streams and violent lakes. In one day, my life changed terribly. A golden glow spread across the sky as the sun chased the dark clouds away. It was indeed a bright morning. In search for a meal, my mother and I went to hunt for a prey. We moved through the fields of snow. “Bang! Bang! Bang!” my mother was shot dead. I ran, before something like that would steal my life. I turned my head around once to see my mother’s dead body and what I saw ahead was disheartening. That Human ambushed my mom. He held a long stick in his hand,through which he shot sharp stones, which killed my mother! I continued running, gasping and faint- hearted. I was all by myself. I had no one to live for anymore. Now, all I wanted to do is tumble through life and tumble out of it. I constantly live in trepidation. I have heard that these selfish humans use our grey and white black spotted fur for garment making. Their bones and other body parts are in demand for use in traditional Asian medicine and wild snow leopards are sometimes captured for private animal collections in Central Asia. But not all times are mournful. I did have some happy times too when I forget all my grief- stricken moments. 
Once, in the afternoon I was relaxing near the a glacier. Seeing through it waiting for it to melt, as it was summer. I heard thuds on the snow. I slowly moved my head, frightened enough to see a human. He was holding a black box with a small sun inside it (camera). His shirt read “National Geographic.” I was in a cold sweat. I was aware of the fact that I could not escape. I remained still. The tiny sun flashed a million times in a row. I went and peeped into the black box. I saw someone like me trapped inside it. Or was it me? It surely was my reflection. My wish was finally fulfilled to see myself! I slowly went away till I could not be seen. I am the master in the art of camouflaging. In winter, my fur is light- colored, and clean, and my body becomes indistinguishable from the snow. In summer, my coat collects dust and takes on a shade similar to the color of a mountain. But it is not color alone that hides me from these egocentric humans. It is my uncanny ability to melt into the mountains! There are very few left of my kind. We are endangered animals who will soon be extinct because of the inacceptable behavior of these humans. 
When they come or will come to see us in these mountain ranges, not one of us will be noticed to them, because well, we are the “Grey Ghosts of the Himalayas!” -Shreya Goenka