Devekh, the snow leopard we’re tracking in Mongolia, is living large: over the last couple of weeks, he’s used an area of 400 km2!
Devekh’s home are two neighboring mountain ranges named Tost and Tosonbumba.
Last year, we had observed Devekh migrating from his “old” home into an area that had previously been occupied by Ariun, another big male cat who had disappeared (and who we believe has sadly died).
A homebody with sudden bouts of the travel bug?
Throughout early spring of 2014, Devekh mostly remained in his new home range – an area he shared with at least two female cats, Ariunbeleg and Dagina, who might have been the reason for his takeover of Ariun’s old range in the first place. He took occasional trips to other parts of the mountains, but always returned “home” after a short while.
In May and June, however, Devekh suddenly turned into something of a nomad, venturing to the fringes of Tost and Tosonbumba; areas he had previously avoided. Then, just when we got ready to label Devekh a restless wanderer, he started to confine his movements again in the summer, returning to his previous core range – only to resume his extensive excursions again in the fall.
We don’t know at this stage what causes Devekh’s occasional wanderlust. It could just be the travel bug, suddenly befalling this cat overnight. His movements might be entirely random. Or he might venture out every now and then to look for new female companions at the fringes of his home range. Further studies – including comparisons to other cats – will hopefully reveal if there are seasonal patterns to these wanderings.
In any case, Devekh does show us once again how important it is for these cats to have sizable, connected and secure habitats that allow them to roam according to their needs. Over the last couple of weeks, Devekh has been using an area of around 400 km2 – that’s the entire size of Seattle, for instance.
We’ll continue to track Devekh until his collar drops off in the spring of 2015.
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As part of our ongoing long term snow leopard study in Mongolia’s South Gobi region, we’re currently tracking one male snow leopard, a cat named Devekh, with a GPS collar. The goal of this study is to learn more about the way snow leopards use space, how they move around and interact with other cats, and what they need to survive. We’ve tracked a total of 19 cats over the last years.
The GPS collar, which will drop off automatically next spring, send Devekh’s location to a satellite, from where it’s transmitted to our computers.
The long-term study is a joint project of the Snow Leopard Trust and Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation in cooperation with the Mongolia Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, and the Mongolia Academy of Sciences.
It’s made possible through the support of:
Cat Life Foundation
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Kolmarden Zoo
Nordens Ark
Swedish University of Agricultural Science
Whitley Fund for Nature
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
South Lakes Wild Animal Park
Phoenix Zoo
Helsinki Zoo
Safari Club International Foundation
Dakota Zoo
Snow Leopard Trust UK
Edrington Group & Edrington Americas
Tulsa Zoo
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