{"id":450811,"date":"2026-02-01T03:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T03:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/450811\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T03:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T03:14:12","slug":"xinjiang-unesco-geopark-chilling-selfie-revealed-moments-before-snow-leopard-mauls-tourist-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/450811\/","title":{"rendered":"Xinjiang UNESCO geopark: Chilling selfie revealed moments before snow leopard mauls tourist in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning: Distressing content<\/p>\n

A new image has surfaced showing the moment a tourist posed for a selfie just metres from a snow leopard in northern China \u2014 moments before she was brutally mauled by the big cat.<\/p>\n

The image, taken shortly before the attack, shows the woman in a purple ski suit standing dangerously close to the animal, highlighting how near she had ventured in a bid to capture the photograph.<\/p>\n

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Footage from the aftermath of the incident shows the woman lying in the snow before being led away with blood pouring from her face on Friday evening in Fuyun county, near China\u2019s border with Mongolia.<\/p>\n

Local reports said the skier had approached the animal after spotting it in the snow, closing the distance to roughly three metres in an attempt to take a picture. A ski instructor eventually chased the leopard away by waving his poles.<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s ski helmet is believed to have spared her more serious injuries. She was taken to a nearby hospital and was reported to be in a stable condition.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew footage reveals chilling moments before snow leopard attack. Credit: X<\/p>\n

Authorities have since issued a warning to visitors following multiple snow leopard sightings in the area, urging tourists not to linger, exit their vehicles or approach animals for photos.<\/p>\n

Warning: Distressing content below<\/p>\n

\u201cSnow leopards are large predators with strong aggressive tendencies,\u201d officials said, advising guests to move quickly through affected areas and avoid walking alone.<\/p>\n

The skier had been staying near the Keketuohai UNESCO Global Geopark in Xinjiang, where visitors reported seeing a snow leopard near a guesthouse the previous evening, reportedly searching for food.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw it last night \u2026 but we can\u2019t confirm if it\u2019s the same snow leopard,\u201d the guesthouse owner told local media.<\/p>\n

China is home to roughly 60 per cent of the world\u2019s wild snow leopard population, though global numbers are estimated at between 4000 and 6500. Attacks on humans are considered extremely rare due to the animals\u2019 shy and elusive behaviour \u2014 but authorities have stressed they are not wildlife to be turned into tourist selfies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warning: Distressing content A new image has surfaced showing the moment a tourist posed for a selfie just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40,1720],"class_list":["post-450811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}