We’ve all had fun figuring out an optical illusion at some point in our lives, whether that be Troxler’s Effect or Oleg Shupliak’s self-portrait. But a new picture saw the whole internet scratching their heads in total confusion.
A picture of a snow leopard has been driving people crazy, as he is practically invisible, perfectly blending into a rocky landscape with some patches of snow lingering on its surface.
The picture of the incredibly well-hidden creature sparked Redditors to challenge themselves to spot the feline, as the initial post on Reddit asked people to “Spot the snow leopard and the time it took u [sic] to spot”.
A picture of a snow leopard has been driving people crazy, as he is practically invisible
“Like a minute, lol,” a Redditor replied. “I thought this was a close-up shot, so I was looking for it in the background,” they added.
Another person commented: “As soon as I stopped looking for a white animal. Very sneaky.”
A separate individual chimed in: “At one point I thought, is there even one in this picture?”
The picture of the incredibly well-hidden creature sparked Redditors to challenge themselves to spot the feline
Despite what you might think, snow leopards aren’t white, but pale gray or cream-colored with smoky gray or blurred black markings, allowing them to camouflage in their mountain habitat.
The medium-sized cats are native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.
Unfortunately, snow leopards are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline by approximately 10% by 2040.
The picture, which has recently gone viral, resurfaced after being originally posted on another Reddit forum five years ago.
According to The Dodo, the picture was taken by wildlife photographer Saurabh Desai in the Spiti Valley of Northern India.
It was perfectly blending into a rocky landscape with some patches of snow lingering on its surface
Saurabh was reportedly there specifically to photograph the elusive big cat native to the region, known as “Shan” by locals.
He told the publication: “I wanted this animal to be captured the way people have described it. They say that often they don’t see the ‘Shan’ but ‘Shan’ always sees them.”
He further explained: “I spent almost three years in search of this amazing cat. When I found it up and close to me, I was speechless.”
Some struggled to find the animal so much that they thought they needed to see an eye doctor
