The Nickname Sticks: "Khashaa" Becomes Khashaa

The newly collared female snow leopard in our study was tentatively nicknamed “Khashaa.” She got this nickname from Ganaa, a base camp neighbor who witnessed the cat being fitted with a collar. Once she became an official member of our study, she needed an official name, and Khashaa it officially is. We look forward to …

New Collaring System More Efficient, And Even Better for Snow Leopards

Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… When we want to collar a snow leopard, we first have to restrain them using safe, non-harmful snares. All our snares are equipped with a small transmitter that sends out a VHF …

A Herd of Cameras, and A Week-Long Training

Summer research efforts are still going strong. The team is busy collecting camera traps and will soon begin analyzing the data. While these cameras provide us with incredibly reliable information on population status and changes, they also help understand other demographic and behavioral traits of the snow leopards. We are also hoping to use the …

Communities Rebuilding After Harshest Winter in Decades

Partnerships with communities living in snow leopard habitat are key to our conservation efforts and this year our partners in Mongolia are facing unprecedented challenges due to the harshest winter in decades.  Over the winter herders in Mongolia lost more than 8.14 million livestock according the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and light Industry.  That is …

Update on Snow Leopard Friendly Vaccination Program in Pakistan

The Snow Leopard Friendly Vaccination Program was evaluated in 2008 and found mature enough for expansion. We surveyed the north and eastern part of Chitral District, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), particularly the valleys of Laspu, Yarkun, Mastuj and Torkho. They not only cover substantial snow leopard range, but also provide connections with Gilgit and …