A curious snow leopard decides to inspect a camera trap set up by researchers to monitor and study these endangered cats.
Category: Research
Tracking the Mountain Ghost
For almost a decade, Swedish researcher Örjan Johansson has studied the elusive snow leopards of the Gobi Desert. His pioneering work includes equipping 23 individual snow leopards with GPS collars, and publishing groundbreaking papers on how these cats use their habitat or how frequently they kill prey. Last month, Örjan defended the PhD thesis he wrote on this research. In this article, he shares some thoughts about his unique work and what motivates him to do it.
Pioneering Research Leads to PhD
Örjan Johansson’s groundbreaking work on the snow leopard’s biology and behavior has led to novel insights into the spatial needs, predation patterns, and reproduction cycle of this elusive cat. Now, after 8 years of field work, collaring 23 individual snow leopards and spending more than 1,000 nights in the Gobi Desert, this pioneering scientist has received his PhD from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Frequently Asked Questions on Snow Leopard’s Red List Status
The Snow Leopard Trust has received a lot of questions from media, supporters and the interested public about the IUCN’s decision to change the snow leopard’s status on the Red List of Threatened Species from ‘Endangered’ to ‘Vulnerable’. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers around this controversial decision.
Pallas’s Cats Posing for Pictures
We’re all about the snow leopard, but that doesn’t mean we can’t occasionally celebrate other felines as well… especially if they pose for pictures for us, like these rare Pallas’s Cats in Mongolia’s Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park.
Wild Snow Leopard Cubs Found in Den
Researchers from the Snow Leopard Trust have been able to locate and examine a pair of wild snow leopard cubs in their den in Mongolia. The discovery will help experts better understand and ultimately protect the endangered cat.
Stunning Snow Leopard Photos from Kyrgyzstan
Hidden camera traps help researchers count snow leopards and provide the rest of us with spectacular glimpses of the world’s most elusive big cat!
Pilot Survey Reveals Rich Biodiversity in Kinnaur, India
India team finds snow leopards and a healthy population of prey in a stretch of the Himalayas that hadn’t been surveyed before. Camera trap images also reveal brown bears, leopard cats, jungle cats and macaques.
To Protect Endangered Carnivores, We Must Also Protect Livestock
A conservation catch 22: Increasing the number wild prey animals is key for healthy snow leopard populations. But it doesn’t solve the problem of livestock predation – on the contrary.
A Snow Leopard Family Album
Follow one Indian snow leopard family through five years of camera trap images.