Field scientist Örjan Johansson is back in the South Gobi, the site of our long-term snow leopard study. Together with his colleague Gustaf Samelius, he’s attempting to collar snow leopards and ibex this spring to allow us to track their movements. This is his field diary.
Our Kyrgyz partner community of Enilchek lost a conservation bonus they would have been due for 2015 because a young man from the village was seen on a camera trap photo guiding poachers into nearby the locally protected area. Now, the young man’s family has agreed to compensate their fellow community members for the lost bonus payment – and our team has started installing camera traps to catch more poachers in the act.
A recent outbreak of PPR, a viral disease common among ruminants, has killed nearly a quarter of Mongolia’s population of saiga, an endangered antelope species. The disease has the potential to spread to key snow leopard prey species in the area as well.
More than 800 ski touring athletes gathered in five locations in Europe this weekend for “Snow Leopard Day”, a fundraising event to benefit snow leopards organized by our long-standing partner, ski touring gear maker Dynafit. Together, they raised more than $10,000 for the mountain cat by climbing some mountains themselves. Our Communications Manager joined in on the fun!
Seven wildlife crime law enforcement officials in Kyrgyzstan have received a Citizen Ranger Wildlife Award for their courage in the fight against illegal hunting in the country’s snow leopard habitat in 2016. They were publicly honored in a ceremony in Bishkek on World Wildlife Day.
The community of Hemiya joins our livestock insurance program, and agrees to set aside a grazing-free reserve for wildlife.
When a wild snow leopard died of old age near the hamlet of Kibber, the community came together to pay their respects to the cat. Our local field coordinator, Kalzang Gurmet, shares this heart-warming story from his home village.
36 new members have joined the Snow Leopard Trust’s program of monthly giving, Team Snow Leopard, this February. Team Snow Leopard provides the foundation for our long-term conservation work!
Every day, we’re inspired by the generosity of artists who use their work to raise awareness and funds for snow leopard conservation. 14-year old Kyle Trefny is one of these artists. Through the sale of his fabulously creative greeting cards, he’s raised over $2,000 for these cats.
Our Regional Ecologist, Justine Shanti Alexander, had her first live snow leopard encounter on China’s Tibetan Plateau last month. She shares the unforgettable experience (and the video the team took) with us in this blog post.
