The Snow Leopard Trust has recently held a meeting with the Governor of the Gurvantes District in Mongolia’s South Gobi to discuss the mining permits that now cover the area. This district is home to our base camp and at least 22 snow leopards including a mother and her cubs. We learned that the Gurvantes …
News & Stories
The Mobicom Uul: The Real Story of Orjan’s “holy” Mountain
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… This post starts on a spring day last year, as I was out on one of my many reconnaissance tours with the motorbike. I was following a bike trail towards the “badlands” …
Orjan Recounts Putting Collar on Fluffy Female Snow Leopard
Orjan is a Swedish PhD student who works at the base camp of our long-term research project in Mongolia. These are his adventures… The last cat has been collared for this portion of the season. And the cat is a female. She weighed little less than 25 kg. I think that she is two years …
Mongolian Herding Communities Sign Petition for the Support of a Protected Area
Recently our team in Mongolia held a workshop in the Tost Bag community with the help of a national NGO. The consultants working for this NGO have successfully challenged mining licenses along the Ongi River. This workshop was attended by herders living in the area, the Tost Bag Governor and township chair members. During the workshop we …
New Female Snow Leopard Collared in Tost Mountain Range
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 …
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 …