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 …
News & Stories
Follow the Cats Update: Shonkhor's Incredible Journey, Devekh's Collar Mystery
The most remarkable journey to date came from Shonkhor this fortnight! Shonkhor (red), collared in April last year, has taken an extensive expedition to the west, much further than where he wandered in previous weeks. Shonkhor’s last location was 60 km west of our base camp. We are curious to see if he continues to …
A Female Snow Leopard Has Been Collared
We have collared the 10th snow leopard, and it’s a female! Collared on Sunday, May 16th, she weighs about 24 kg and is approximately two years old. Orjan, a researcher at base camp, noted that a trap camera deployed close to base camp obtained pictures of three small snow leopards on the 5th of May. …
SLT Director Responds to Tough Question about "Good Mining" in Mongolia
We received a great question recently from Snow Leopard Trust member and donor Kurt Weideling, regarding our recent series of posts about mining in Mongolia. We imagine that other Trust members have had similar concerns, and Kurt has given us permission to post his exchange with Executive Director Brad Rutherford. Kurt’s question appears in green, …
Newly Collared Snow Leopard Officially Named "Khavar"
In the evening of April 25th, we placed a GPS collar on a male snow leopard who has been officially named “Khavar.” Khavar means Spring or Renewal in Mongolian and refers to the important time of year for herders when grass starts coming up and lambs are born. The name was chosen by long-time Trust …
GPS Study: Aztai has guests in his home range
Aztai (green) continues to avidly patrol the core of his home range. In the last two weeks, we were able to fit Aztai with a new collar, and it appears that he made a kill on April 24th. With so many new male recruits hovering around his territory, he seems to be very busy marking …
Snow Leopards Visit the North Pole (Sort of)
Wildlife photographer Farzin and polar explorer Inge traveled to the North Pole, and put up a snow leopard flag. Thanks to Farzin and Inge, our friends at Snow Leopard Trust UK, snow leopards have now made it to the North Pole (in a way).
A New Snow Leopard Was Collared in Mongolian Mining Region
On April 25th, 2010 a sixth snow leopard (temporarily dubbed M8 ) was collared near our base camp. He joins Aztai, Tsagaan, Shonkhor, Saikhan and Devekh. Through our GPS radio collaring study we have been able to map the core home ranges of these snow leopards.
Tost Mountains Important to Herding Families
Tost and Tosonbumba Mountains are not only important for snow leopard and biodiversity conservation, but are also home to 233 herder families. These families do not want mining extraction in their region either. We are working with them to sort out legal options for making the Tost Mountains a recognized protected area. Our Mongolia staff …
Base Camp Goes Green
The base camp for our Mongolia long term study is going green with a huge donation of solar panels from Wildlife Conservation Network’s Solar Panel Project. Thanks to the Turner Foundation and Cat Life Foundation, these panels are being shipped to Mongolia right now. We can’t wait for this big gift to arrive!