Orjan, a Phd. Candidate from Sweden and our resident expert on snow leopard collaring, has returned to our Mongolian base camp after a quick return home.
We have set a new record by getting camp in order, checking the collaring area and building equipment in just four days. I just finished cleaning the gers and preparing supplies, tomorrow Dr. Tom McCarthy and the others will arrive. Three months of office work at home with too much food and too little workout has left me with a rather increased waist measure and a much too decreased biceps measure. Am a little worried that I have already started with my ‘Cat tracking breakfast’ – two mugs of hot water with two tablespoons of Nescafé in each and a couple of painkillers on the side. I usually don’t start with that until later, could be a long field session…
I found pugmarks at seven sites yesterday, can’t tell how old they are since I just arrived and don’t know what the weather has been like but they must be fairly new. Man, I gotta say that our collaring equipment looks good, I put in a lot of effort into it. Will be a little sad if anything messes it up. Well if it is a snow leopard I suppose it is OK.
Cheers,
Orjan
Looking forward to reading the updates. Good luck!