For years, one female snow leopard kept reappearing on Koiluu Ridge, sometimes alone and sometimes with cubs. Her long camera-trap record offers a rare look at motherhood and survival in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan.
Category: Follow The Cats
The Village That Waited With a Snow Leopard in Need
When an injured snow leopard was found above Rabat village, Wildlife Watcher Nasir Ahmad and local residents worked together to try to save her. Their response reflects two decades of trust-building, work for which Nasir received Pakistan’s Markhor Award in 2026.
A Snow Leopard Survey Inspires a Children’s Book
A first scientific survey of snow leopards in Jammu and Kashmir documented at least 21 adults across more than 15,000 square kilometers. The fieldwork also inspired The Lost Snow Leopard: A Himalayan Adventure, a children’s book that brings the region’s wildlife and mountain landscapes to young readers.
M24’s Strange Range: A Small Cat and a Big Question
His Mongolian name is Angarag, which means Mars. To our researchers, he’s simply M24. But simple is the wrong word for this cat. He’s the 24th male snow leopard collared in our long-term ecological study in the mountains of Tost, Mongolia. He was about 2.5 to 3.5 years old when our scientists first collared him in 2025. Since then, his movements have intrigued our team, so we wanted to share a short update on what he’s been up to.
Why Humans Need to Live with Snow Leopards
Today, protecting the cat means ensuring that communities have the agency, tools, and benefits to continue living alongside it. Coexistence is no longer an idea but a lived reality.
Kullu, Shadow, and the Ghost of the Mountains
In January 2008, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi was 23 when he encountered three snow leopards in Spiti: a mother, her cub, and a sub-adult male beginning to make his way on his own. That night, Kullu bought livestock for a feast because the entire village wanted to celebrate.
How Do You Count a Ghost Cat?
With a range spanning some of the planet’s harshest mountain terrain, the snow leopard is one of nature’s most elusive big cats. It lives at densities of roughly one to three animals per 100 square kilometers, earning its reputation as the ghost of the mountains.
Protecting Snow Leopards: A Ranger’s Story from Kyrgyzstan
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.
When the World Comes for the Snow Leopard
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.”
Where Are The Cats Now? Spring Field Update Part 2
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.