A snow leopard wasn’t very good at hiding its surprise when it spotted a new camera in its enclosure.
The adorable snow leopard Jessie, who resides at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire, was startled when she turned around to see the new camera trap that had been installed.
Jessie was hanging out in her enclosure at the park where she has lived since 2015. She seemed entirely content and unaware she was being filmed, but did a double take when she realised something was different.
Check out her hilarious reaction here:
Jessie had reportedly seen the light on the camera and jumped at the new addition to her enclosure, rolling on to her back and wiggling around on the rocks for a few seconds like a turtle stuck upside down on its shell.
She probably just always likes to be camera-ready and was startled by the fact that the camera wasn’t catching her good side.
The wildlife park shared the video on their Facebook page, where they wrote:
This is the best thing you’ll see all day…
Our Snow Leopard’s reaction to the new camera trap in her enclosure… Just wait for it…
The funny video received over 1.5 million views, with many commenting their amusement at the surprised feline.
One person recognised the snow leopard’s reaction as something we can all relate to:
This clip is a direct representation of accidentally turning the front facing camera on.
Another compared the video to the hilarious trend of watching cats get scared by cucumbers, writing:
Remember those cats who are scared of cucumbers and jump away? This is the Snow Leopard version of that.
A third added:
I’m in love ..so cute..kitty just being silly..
However some viewers were more concerned about the animal’s looks, with many questioning whether the snow leopard was overweight.
One person commented:
that’s one well fed kitty! Looks like it was trying to get up!
While another added:
Is it a dwarf snow leopard or is it overweight?
In response to the comments, Paradise Wildlife Park shared a picture of Jessie sticking her tongue out, and wrote:
Jessie’s reaction to people thinking she’s overweight… we’re shocked too Jessie.
Thank you for liking this hilarious video of our Snow Leopard Jessie. For those asking, we weigh our Snow Leopards regularly and her weight is 40kg which is average for a Snow Leopard. These bigs cats are also known for having incredibly thick fur.
We also have one of the best and well respected big cat vets in the world who monitors all of our cats here at Paradise Wildlife Park.
Jessie seemed to recover quickly from her surprise, and was back to being stealthy and subtle as she crept up on a ‘zebra’ in her enclosure:
Ah… Jessie is so cute! Hopefully we’ll be seeing more interesting videos of her now there’s a new camera catching all of her antics.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to stories@unilad.co.uk.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.