Strength in Solitude

On a damp peak of a Nepalese mountain, a snow leopard blends into her surroundings as she gazes across the mountains. Are those eyes fixed on something or nothing? The solitary snow leopard is the only one who knows the answer.

Snow leopards have a large distribution, reaching across 12 countries, including Nepal. These remarkable big cats live above 3,500m elevation, reveling in their snowy, winter landscape. These apex predators are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, due to habitat loss and the declining numbers of their prey.

Is she scanning for prey? Is she measuring how far she must leap? Or is she simply taking in the surroundings – the crisp air and blue sky? No matter what it is, she must gaze at this alone. In nature, you learn that there’s strength in numbers, but you also learn that there’s strength in solitude.

Like this resilient creature, sometimes all you need is the awakening of your inner strength.

This award-winning photograph is from the seventh season, “The Moment”, of the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Archive. The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA, leveraging the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.