Photos: Panthera/EKZNW/WILDLIFEACT

A camera trap in South Africa captured something remarkable last month: In six brief images, a leopard, one of the planets most elusive cats, can be seen attacking, killing and moving off screen with a meal in this case, an unlucky impala.

The images, looped into a gif above, were released by the conservation group Panthera and reflect an extraordinary moment in a grueling, years-long effort to figure out just how many of the big cats are left in the world.

Guy Balme , the director of Pantheras Leopard Program , said the cats known worldwide for their fashion-forward spots are a relatively neglected species.

Leopards have totally slipped off the conservation radar, Balme said. They still have a wide range, and often theyve managed to persist in areas where these other cats have become extinct. But because [we] have this perception about leopards resilience, its almost like people believe theyre totally immune to persecution.

In fact, like many of their feline brethren, the cats face the same pressures as tigers, lions and cheetahs due to the twin threats of habitat loss and human conflict.