The elusive snow leopard - long considered endangered - has been upgraded to "vulnerable," though conservationists warned the new classification does not mean they are safe.

A healthy population of snow leopards, elusive big cats threatened across their homes in the mountain ranges of Central Asia, has been found in one of the few peaceful areas of Afghanistan, a wildlife group said.

Wildlife experts are celebrating the sightings of two groups of rare Asiatic cheetahs in central Iran during recent months, raising hopes that one of the world’s fastest moving creatures could be saved from extinction, conservation officials said today.