(Photo of Aztai by Stephen Sparrow, courtesy of SLT/Panthera) We’re in the third year of our long-term snow leopard study and it’s been a busy field season. In June, our crew installed 40 automatic camera traps in the mountains, at locations such as saddles or steep canyons that are used avidly by snow leopards. The …
Category: Snow Leopard Trust Updates
Protected Area Proposal in Mongolia Passes Township and District Levels
As we’ve been reporting, mining currently threatens landscapes used by herders and wildlife in the South Gobi, in particular the Tost Mountains surrounding our long-term study. In past entries, we told you how Bayara, our Mongolia Country Director, was leading community meetings in the Tost Township. These meetings resulted in a unified effort by the …
Base Camp Mongolia: Our Summer Research Goals
There is one more week left before Orjan takes a break from fieldwork. He will head back to Sweden soon, and he’ll return to the base camp in late August to begin the next collaring season, which will run through mid-December. Various other studies are planned in the South Gobi over the next couple of …
The Mongolian Death Worm: An Update from Orjan
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… All collars are out, all hunting sites have been checked, and I think that I have found a new area for collaring in the autumn. I don’t know why I haven’t thought …
Recently Collared Female Snow Leopard Has Been Named: "Zaraa"
The newest member of our long-term study, a young female snow leopard, has been named. Initially known as F2, she has been named Zaraa, which means “hedgehog” in Mongolian. A furry, fluffy, and relatively small creature by snow leopard standards (she weighs 25 kg), her name is quite fitting. We’re very excited to learn more …
Snow Leopard Trust Meets With Gurvantes Governor to Discuss Mining
The Snow Leopard Trust has recently held a meeting with the Governor of the Gurvantes District in Mongolia’s South Gobi to discuss the mining permits that now cover the area. This district is home to our base camp and at least 22 snow leopards including a mother and her cubs. We learned that the Gurvantes …
The Mobicom Uul: The Real Story of Orjan’s “holy” Mountain
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… This post starts on a spring day last year, as I was out on one of my many reconnaissance tours with the motorbike. I was following a bike trail towards the “badlands” …
Orjan Recounts Putting Collar on Fluffy Female Snow Leopard
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… The last cat has been collared for this portion of the season. And the cat is a female. She weighed little less than 25 kg. I think that she is two years …
Mongolian Herding Communities Sign Petition for the Support of a Protected Area
Recently our team in Mongolia held a workshop in the Tost Bag community with the help of a national NGO. The consultants working for this NGO have successfully challenged mining licenses along the Ongi River. This workshop was attended by herders living in the area, the Tost Bag Governor and township chair members. During the workshop we …
New Female Snow Leopard Collared in Tost Mountain Range
Just in case you haven’t heard, we’ve collared another snow leopard, and it’s a female! We met the newest addition on Sunday, May 16th, she weighs about 24 kg and is approximately two years old. Will this female move closer to where Devekh, Khavar, and Aztai are marking territories? It is exciting to have a female …