Humans are the biggest danger to the endangered snow leopard but a former park ranger from Bhutan hopes to mitigate that threat, thanks to Australian help.

The soft-furred, snowy cats don’t live in Australia, except in places like the National Zoo in Canberra, which is home to two of them, named Bhutan and Shiva.

Snow Leopards are found in the wild in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

They are found in the wild in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Researchers and conservationists reckon there may only be between 3000 to 6000 left in the wild.