Due to their elusive nature, snow leopards are extremely difficult to count. Despite great efforts and technological advances, we still don’t have reliable population numbers. Until that changes, these endangered cats are best served by a very conservative approach.
We are happy to see the comprehensive book on snow leopards and their biology that was published earlier this summer (1). However, a group of authors state in a chapter of this book (2) that the global snow leopard population may be significantly higher than prevailing estimates. This claim and its implications, which have been …
With remote-sensor research cameras, our field teams are surveying snow leopard populations in key habitats in five of the cat’s range countries. While these cameras are very much a research tool, they also provide us with breathtaking images of the elusive snow leopard. We’re happy to share some of the very best pics from the …
In 2015, we decided to partner with the Kyrgyz government to turn the former hunting concession of Shamshy into a wildlife sanctuary. Now, a first small research camera survey has revealed just how diverse the area’s wildlife is.
Pakistani researchers take rare photos of the endangered snow leopard on the icy Hisper glacier in Central Karakoram National Park.
Mongolia’s Tost Mountains have recently been declared a State Nature Reserve, thanks to a remarkable effort by the local community. Now, it’s up to us all to help ensure that the area’s rich wildlife – including a stable snow leopard population, can thrive in this prime habitat.
Mongolia’s Parliament declares Tost a State Protected Area. The mountain range is home to a stable, breeding population of snow leopards.
Press release, Nordens Ark, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Snow Leopard Trust
The Pallas’s cat is a small cat species that lives in the mountains and grasslands of Central Asia, from Iran to China and Mongolia. It’s one of the least studied cats in the world and is currently listed as Near Threatened with a decreasing population by the IUCN red list of endangered species. A large international collaboration has now been initiated in order to make progress with the conservation of the species.
Our Mongolian colleague and friend Sumbe Tomorsukh would have celebrated his 28th birthday today. He was a talented researcher, and a passionate, dedicated advocate for the wildlife of his beloved Tost Mountains, in Mongolia’s South Gobi province.
Growing up in Mongolia’s Gobi desert, Tserennadmid (Nadia) Mijiddorj knew from a young age that she wanted to become a snow leopard conservationist. She’s made her dream come true, earning a Masters in biology and joining the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation – the Mongolia partner of the Snow Leopard Trust – as a Conservation and Education Manager over a decade ago. Now, thanks to her second Sidney Byers Scholarship for Wildlife Conservation through the WCN Scholarship Program, this homegrown conservationist is ready to take the next step in her career.
