We have recently discovered that mining interests in Mongolia’s South Gobi could threaten the snow leopards we are studying. There are 92 mining permits now covering nearly all of the South Gobi’s Tost Mountains. This area is home to Aztai, Tsagaan, Supermom and dozens of other snow leopards we have come to know over the …
News & Stories
Snow Leopard Trust Provides Mongolia Relief Effort
As you might have heard, Mongolia is facing one of the worst winters in three decades: herders have lost an estimated 4.5 million livestock as 19 of 21 provinces were hit by extreme cold and snow. The Snow Leopard Trust has established a relief fund so that we can immediately help families through this difficult …
Attempted Snow Leopard Trade in Afghanistan
Many supporters called and wrote after reading in USA Today and TIME magazine this March a story about a hunter who captured a snow leopard in the Wakhan corridor (an important wildlife migration area that straddles the Afghanistan-Pakistan border), intending to sell the live cat to a private collector. After the hunter was turned in …
GPS Study: Following Devekh Across Mongolia's Tost Mountains
As you can see on the map, Devekh’s movements these past two weeks have been remarkable (Devekh’s positions and trajectories are represented by the blue dots and lines). He has already given us quite a lot of data points to follow! Two weeks ago Devekh was heading Southeast toward the Tost Mountains. He continued this …
Snow Leopard “Supermom” Spotted Again
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… There is still lots of snow in some parts of the mountains, particularly towards the western side. We tried to go to the area where Shonkhor lives to collect some cameras that …
Snow Leopard M7 Renamed: Say Hello to "Devekh"
The newest snow leopard to join our long-term study in Mongolia now has a new name! In February we placed a collar on a strapping young male that we were temporarily calling “M7.” As you can read in earlier posts, M7 is quite an explorer. We are proud to announce that M7 officially has a …
New Collared Cat M7 is A Fast Mover
After several weeks of only hearing from one or two cats, we have recent location uplinks from four of the five collared snow leopards. Perhaps one of the most remarkable journeys depicted by this data is that of our newest cat we call M7 (blue). He is a real mover! He was fitted with his …
Orjan's Eye Story: Don't Try This At Home
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… Spring might have finally come to the Gobi. The last days have been warmer, mainly because the wind has shifted and now blows from the south. I think that this caused this …
Meet Mongolia's Known Snow Leopards
With our recent success in collaring another male snow leopard, we wanted to reintroduce you to the snow leopards who’ve made an appearance near our base camp in South Gobi, Mongolia. For more information (including photos) of these cats, visit our Meet the Cats page. Snow Leopards We Are Tracking Aztai (Lucky)– a male, probably …
Collared Cats in Mongolia Are Having Successful Hunts
The cats have been on the prowl over the past two weeks, and appear to have had some successful hunting activity! Aztai (green) has been feasting – and how! Just a day before he was collared in the last week of February, he had been feeding on three goats. Orjan confirmed this after making a …