It is with heavy heart that we write to inform you that the snow leopard named Longtail (known as Bayartai in Mongolian), was killed by a herder defending his livestock. This has come as a terrible shock and our entire team is devoted to learning the details of this unfortanate event. Please understand that it takes time to fully investigate and understand what happened. In the coming days, many of your questions will be answered on our website and blog. If you have other questions you are welcome to contact us about Longtail by writing to info@snowleopard.org.
Very tragic news from Mongolia! Thinking of the team there who are working so hard to protect these magnificent animals.
It’s sad that this has happened in this day and age. I’m wondering if our cherished cat’s days are numbered. I’m wondering if herders should not be compensated in advance in case this happens again. How much can a sheep or goat cost?
How heartbreaking. Where the loss of every single snow leopard is crucial, this is just so disappointing. I hope to learn more soon and hope the people who did this come to understand protecting these cats can be far more beneficial than murder.
Words cannot express how sad I am after hearing this news. This setback for the program, while incredibly disappointing, underscores the desperate need for continued work towards educating the local herders and gaining their “buy in” for snow leopard protection. Continue the fight, continue your efforts, the leopards need us.
This is very sad to hear, I’m sure it’s a great loss to the program with the collars that is making so many advancements in snow leopard knowledge. I’m sure it doesnt help with bringing the population back. But to that man, he wasnt about to have a leopard kill his way of making a living. Hopefully all the details come out as to what exactly happen and he gets educated about the consequences of his actions in the snow leopard community and how it effects reproduction.
poor Bayartai…
So sad about Longtail death!
A kiss and great great THANKS to all researchers from Italy.
Mara
As I read through the my email I read about Longtail and I along with others I am sure feel very sad at the lose of this mystical and beautiful creature. Although we find it hard to reason with this trajedy, in our hearts we must know that there is a reason for this to have happened and together we must find it in our hearts to learn from it and to educate others.
To the team, we are here to support you and truely believe in all that you do. Longtail will surely be missed but will never be forgotten.
A moment of silence……………
With Love
Joseph,
Thankyou for your wonderful words as above! We must all work together to protect all the unique creatures that inhabitat our planet! I hope the Snow Leopard Trust will be able to inform us more as to what has occurred in Mongolia. Communication is increasingly important in this age of the internet! So much can be achieved for wildlife worldwide. Brenton(from Down Under )
Indeed, this is a tragic event in our small (compared to the big, wide world) community. I often feel very small when I think about how many people have so much more power than I – they can choose to save or take such a magnificent life. A life of a type that, sadly, is becoming increasingly rare, which means it is becoming increasingly valuable.
I work alongside policy-makers in my job, and I know the struggles they face in changing human behaviour. The simple fact is, even if one can influence policy, one can feel very small. If the people on the ground with the herds and the guns don’t understand the reasons why, and don’t have a culture that values wildlife, all of our efforts will inevitably fail.
Changing culture is the only path to sustainability. I hope we can bring understanding, and through that, a change of practice to the herders.
Indeed tragic news!!! Longtail was the first snow leopard I’ve ever seen, thanks to the documentary that was aired on Discovery. I have in the meantime become a member of The Snow Leopard Trust and tell everyone I know about these majestic and amazing creatures.
More should be done and more people should be made aware of the endangered status of these beautiful animals.
My heart goes out to those who work with the snow leopards. I hope that we can find a way to protect these animals and bridge that huge gap between the villagers protecting their livestock and the leopards. Sadly, WHERE do the leopards go, when their natural habitat becomes less and less in a populated world.
Regardless… Longtail will be terribly missed.
Thanks for the infos! Your blogpost actually assisted me.