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: Research
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.
The Secret Love Lives of Wild Snow Leopards
It’s that time of year again in the high mountains of Central Asia. No, not Valentine’s Day but something similar in the big cat world. It’s snow leopard mating season. And a bit more than three months later comes snow leopard cub season. How does the mythical ghost of the mountain compare to other big cats when it comes to love and family? We asked Senior Scientist Dr. Örjan Johansson and Assistant Director of Science Dr. Gustaf Samelius to share some of their insights into snow leopard mating habits and reproduction.
What 900,000 Years of Snow Leopard Ancestry Tells Us About Their Ability to Adapt
You’ve probably heard us say that there may be as few as 4,000 snow leopards left in the wild today. But what about a million years ago? New research from a study between Stanford University, Snow Leopard Trust and other collaborators suggests that snow leopards have had a consistently low population for at least the last nine hundred thousand years – and that could spell trouble for their future.
Size Matters: Study Reveals Snow Leopards Hunt Like No Other Big Cat
Findings from a new study have upended long-held assumptions about snow leopard eating habits. The results? Bigger is (almost) always better.