Yes, it’s not all snow and glaciers up there . . .

At this point in the saga, these people have reached the conifer levels of the Himalayan forests.

If we were to pass beyond their human perspective and explore the highlands on our own, we might meet many forms of plant and animal life, but probably not the fluffy big cats that sometimes prowl these woods.

At this time of year, they’re up above timber line.

During summer, they migrate, along with their prey, into the grassy alpine and subalpine regions of the Himalayas and many other high mountain ranges in Central Asia.

And hot on the trail of the cats are some ecotourists.

We’ll meet these beautiful cats in more detail this Friday.

Featured image: Sanjoy Ghosh via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.