A wilderness camera trap caught images of a Common Leopard sharing the same habitat as the Snow Leopard.  That's raising alarms with people trying to preserve the latter endangered species.

"How are these two cat species already managing to live together - or will the interface be difficult when their habitats are changing with climate change?" asked Koustubh Sharma of the Snow Leopard Trust.  "The pictures from our camera trap make these questions more relevant and pressing."

The images of the Common Leopard were taken in China's Qinghai province in July last year; the same camera had earlier filmed a Snow Leopard.

Snow Leopards are found only in higher elevations, above 3,000 meters in open and rocky areas.  It's estimated that there are only 3,500 to 7,000 snow leopards in the wild, and they're under pressure due to habitat loss and poaching.  Common Leopards are found in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.  Their habitats include forests and woodlands at lower elevations.  But the Common Leopard in Asia is now facing new challenges as man-made global warming transforms landscapes.

"In a changing climate, we expect the tree line to move up the slopes and that's encroaching into the snow leopard's habitat," said Byron Weckworth, China programme director at conservation group Panthera.  "The bigger threat is the snow leopards' habitat loss and its fragmentation."

It is unclear how the two species will interact.  Some local people believe the two types of cat have mated, but Mr. Weckworth said it was unlikely they would be able to produce any offspring because they are too far apart genetically.