A female snow leopard (Panthera uncia) at the Toronto Zoo pauses and watches the last beams of the day's sunlight steal in through the trees.

When taking photos of animals, you can't really plan anything, but in this case I was able to position myself in anticipation of where the snow leopard was going to end up. I was fortunately that she decided to stop right where I was hoping she would, which was in a small patch of sunlight. I'm not sure what made her stop, but I was thankful she did.

I get a little irritated with people who talk about zoo animals posing for them, even in jest, as if these creatures have some kind of inherent responsibility to do what we want them to do. When we are at a zoo, we are visiting their home as guests and should be respectful of those that live there. Moreover, as photographers, it's not the animals that serve us and our photos, we and our photos should serve them.

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Snow leopards are found in mountainous central Asia, also called "the roof of the world". They are acclimated for some of the harshest terrain and climate in the world and are extremely elusive. Sadly, snow leopards are not elusive enough to escape the hand of man. They are an endangered species and there may be as few as 3,000 left in the wild with populations decreasing. Individuals are often the victims of revenge killing after taking village livestock, poaching for their bones and skin, prey depletion and habitat loss.

Please visit http://www.snowleopard.org for more information on snow leopards and how you can help.