With Tsagaan fitted with an improved GPS tracking collar this past September, we have learned a remarkable amount of information on his recent whereabouts. His home range overlaps with that of Khashaa, Tenger and Zara (the three females in our research study) and his GPS locations show him visiting all of them more than once …
Category: Follow The Cats
Snow doesn't stop snow leopard research
Dear blog readers, thanks for a great year. Here is an end-of-the-year update about our long-term snow leopard study in the South Gobi, Mongolia. November marked one of the coldest months in South Gobi with mercury dipping to abysmal limits. Field work became increasingly difficult and our camp remained under thick cover of snow. Despite …
Possible Snow Leopard Romance
On September 18, 2010, our team caught up with Tsagaan, one of the large adult males we have been following for two years. Tsagaan was re-collared in March 2010. Unfortunately, his collar never switched on and we received no GPS locations from it during the last 8 months. Thankfully, this time around we were able …
Stunning Sharable Snow Leopard Photos
For your viewing pleasure, straight from our base camp in Mongolia. You might have seen some great photos of snow leopards in zoos, but these are wild cats! Amazing. The cat in the snow–that’s Aztai and we have been following him for 2 years.
Snow Leopard F4 Has New Official Name
F4, the female snow leopard who joined our long-term study October 15, 2010 and who turned out to be Zaraa’s mom (!) now has an official new name, Tenger. Here is how Bayara, our Mongolia Country Director, describes the meaning of Tenger: ‘Tenger” means Sky, but still holds the meaning of spirit and power. Mongolians respect …
The Incredible Tale of the Snow Leopard Named Supermom
The story of the snow leopard called Supermom is nothing short of spectacular (and how could it not be, with a name like that!). To appreciate the story, you first must remember that not long ago snow leopards were called “the ghost of the Himalayas” because so few people had seen them. With your help, …
Follow the Cats: Aztai Returns from the Dead
The past several weeks have had many of our scientists on their toes. Just a few weeks after Zara ventured into the “badlands,” it was Aztai’s turn. After taking off from his home range on what seemed like one of his usual forays, he spent two days around a hillock right in the middle of …
Follow the Cats Update: Zaraa Enters the Badlands
(Map Courtesy of SLT/Panthera) We are happy to announce that the collars worn by Aztai, Khavar and Zaraa continue to work fabulously, uploading up to 80% of the scheduled locations; those of Shonkhor, Tsagaan, Saikhan and Devekh seem to be under-performing. The good news is that Orjan will be returning to the field shortly (he …
Our Most Recently Collared Female Snow Leopard Has Been Photographed!
Zaraa, the most recent addition to our long term collaring study, has finally been photographed! Her name, meaning “hedgehog” in Mongolian, is perfect for this small and fluffy young snow leopard. She is the second female to be collared since the start of this program, but the first female slipped her collar within days, making it impossible …
GPS Study Update: Shonkor's Next Move, Aztai and Khavar's Overlapping Ranges
(Follow the Cats posts are usually accompanied by a satellite map, but Koustubh, our map-maker, is currently in the field collecting data.) The first two weeks of May, Shonkhor had all of us guessing about his next move. He had embarked on an incredible journey 60 km to the west of base camp, and we …