While the tiger may steal the limelight and be at the top of many a wildlife bucket list there are plenty of other rare and threatened species to discover in Asia.

The world's largest continent, Asia is home to a rich diversity of wildlife as varied and fascinating as its many cultures and landscapes. 

Compared to safaris in Africa, spotting Asian wildlife presents more of a challenge, in terms of patience and tracking skills, but the extra effort simply doubles the rewards; there’s an abundance of animals and birds in many places if you know when to go and where to look. Avoid chasing the star attraction and with a knowledgeable guide more meaningful encounters you least expected will come to you.  

Aside from tiger, other big cats include leopard and snow leopard in habitats that stretch from ancient granite rocks among scrub parched crisp by the sun to awesome mountain ranges perennially covered in snow. 

The Indian Leopard has larger rosettes than the other subspecies, with a paler coat in desert habitats, greyer in colder climes and more ochre in rainforest habitats. Their pattern of rosettes is unique to each individual and can be used to tell them apart.

Melanism is a common occurrence in leopards, the entire skin being black so that the spots become indistinguishable. Commonly called Black Panthers, this was Rudyard Kipling’s most stunning Jungle Book character, Bagheera.

In Satpura and Rajasthan leopards make their home among giant rocky outcrops, much resembling the kopjes of the Serengeti, and while they can run at over 50km per hour, leap over 6m and jump up to 3m feet high, you’re more likely to see one stretched out on sun warmed rocks or perhaps even a mother playing with cubs in the golden light of late afternoon.

Champions of camouflage and painfully shy, when tracking by jeep or on foot, a knowledgeable guide becomes indispensable. At the break of dawn when the overnight dew dampens the soil, or late afternoons when the sun is low, casting longer shadows on the prints, tracks on the soft ground beneath the rocks can most easily be spotted. Pugmarks can reveal the sex, age and condition of a leopard – as well as evidence of their position on which hill they’ve chosen to reside for the day.

It is partial to fruits, berries, grasses, flowers, honey, and termites which it voraciously sucks up from mounds while the upper lip folds up to close the nostrils stopping any insects or dust to enter nose.

A particular favourite in spring are leaves and flowers of Mahua trees and intoxicated by overeating the fermenting blooms the unpredictable bears are more cautiously respected by park guards and naturalist guides than tigers; the bears’ 3 inch long sharp claws used for climbing trees and breaking open honey combs are lethal. Wild dogs, leopards and tigers themselves also keep their distance

Sloth bears are primarily nocturnal, but in the jungle they can sometimes be seen searching for food during the day. They may be spotted on safari by open jeep in Kanha National Park, but in Satpura, in the company of an expert guide and a park ranger with a very intimate knowledge of the jungle there’s the opportunity to track sloth bear on a walking safari.

Its habitat is tropical and subtropical grasslands or savannahs, swamps and forests – similar to that of Africa’s White Rhino. The armour plated appearance is created by large skin folds, while the wart-like bumps and large single black horn found in both males and females, add to the prehistoric look.

Generally solitary, with the exception of mothers with their young, these rhinos are great swimmers and on land can run up to 35 mph for a short time. Though their eyesight is poor, they have excellent hearing and a strong sense of smell.

Located on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, Kaziranga National Park is home to more than two thirds of the world population of Greater One Horned Rhino. Using a jeep you can get deep into each of the parks four zones but you are almost guaranteed to get within just a few meters of rhino on an early morning elephant back safari. There’s also a high density of tiger, well concealed in the tall elephant grass, Asian elephant, jackal, fishing cats, a wide variety of reptiles from tortoise to crocodile and hundreds of species of birds, including Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Black-Necked Stork and Dalmatian Pelican.

In Nepal the rhino finds refuge in Chitwan and Bardia, the largest and least disturbed sanctuary in Nepal’s southern Terai lowlands. The park can be explored by jeep and on foot, walking in the company of elephants. Bardia is also a habitat for a range of endangered birds, including the Bengal Florican and Sarus Crane.

Known as the Ghost of the Himalaya for good reason it is solitary by nature, as shy as it is rare and impeccably camouflaged.

It is surely the most beautiful too; remarkable pale green eyes stare out from a luxuriously thick coat dappled with dark rosettes and the near meter long tail doubles as a scarf when it’s not being used for balance in its rugged habitat.

Found only in the remote mountainous areas of Central Asia the snow leopard is among the most endangered species on earth. The nature of its territory makes studying them a challenge, labouring in blizzards and thin mountain air and numbers are based on educated guesses; less than 5% of the snow leopards range in India has been surveyed.

Tracking them on safari can be equally tricky - most signs of snow leopard activity, especially pug marks, are ephemeral. But, high in the Himalayas just an hour’s flight north of Delhi, beyond the Indus River and craggy ancient monasteries, the mountains in the former Buddhist kingdom of Ladakh are one of the best places in the world to see them.