When Ranger Aibek* received a tip that someone was planning to sell a snow leopard skin at a local market in Kyrgyzstan’s Talas region, he knew time was of the essence. Snow leopards are among the world’s most endangered big cats, and a tip like this does not stay useful for long. Sellers move fast, and evidence disappears.
At dawn, in winter, a snow leopard moves along a ridge above Kibber, in Spiti Valley, India. It picks its way across the rock the way it always has, unhurried, indifferent to the village below. Watching from the village is Tanzin Chhoyi. “I have seen the cat many times before,” she says, “but the enchantment of such a majestic creature living among us never dies down.”
Seven snow leopards. Seven stories unfolding across the mountains of Mongolia. GPS collaring gives our researchers a rare window into the lives of these elusive cats, revealing how they use habitat, raise their young, and interact with each other and their prey. That knowledge directly shapes our conservation strategies to protect them. Here’s what they’ve been up to lately.
In one of Mongolia’s most spectacular landscapes, a vulnerable species is thriving. But for how long depends on decisions being made right now. In September 2025, a team of researchers and rangers set out across the vast expanse of the South Gobi to count goitered gazelles. The mission had two goals: to gather reliable data on gazelle populations and to train local rangers in modern survey techniques.
Few people know snow leopards and Eurasian lynx as intimately as Snow Leopard Trust Senior Scientist Dr. Örjan Johansson. Before he returned to Mongolia for spring snow leopard field work, he reflected on what these two elusive predators have in common and why the differences between them matter for conservation.
Deep in the high Himalayas, camera traps set up to track snow leopards have been quietly capturing something else as well, a cast of brilliantly colored, rarely seen birds that may be just as important to the mountain ecosystem. Researcher Adithi Rao explains what happened when curiosity led her team to take a closer look at what else was showing up in the frame
Despite the challenges 2025 threw our way, one thing is clear: snow leopard conservation is gaining momentum. From groundbreaking scientific discoveries to life-saving community programs, we reached major milestones that once seemed impossible. And none of it would have happened without your support. Read on to see what you made possible.
In the high mountains of Mongolia’s Tost Nature Reserve, our researchers have been tracking snow leopards through one of the most demanding periods of their lives: the weeks before and after females give birth. What they discovered reveals remarkable maternal behaviors and preparation.
For many women living in snow leopard habitat, these endangered cats are often viewed as a threat to their livelihoods. As the primary caretakers of livestock, they feel the loss deeply when a snow leopard kills an animal, leading to an understandably negative view of the species. But a groundbreaking program in India is rewriting that narrative.
In the mountains of Tost, Mongolia, every snow leopard mother faces the same ultimate challenge: keeping her cubs alive. Our Senior Scientist, Dr. Örjan Johansson shares how two snow leopard mothers with new litters have chosen remarkably different strategies to ensure their cubs’ survival.
