News & Stories

Just How Many Mining Permits Are There in The South Gobi?

The Gobi is home to large mineral deposits. As of October 2009, South Gobi province accounted for 12% (560) of the total licenses (4521) that have been issued so far. This distinguishes the province as having the most licenses issued for mining. Out of 560 licenses in South Gobi, Gurvantes Soum–where the Tost Mountains are …

Why it is so important to protect Mongolia's Tost Mountains from mining

Despite Studies dating back to the early 1980’s in other parts of Central Asia, snow leopards remain one of the least studies of the big cats. The Snow Leopard Trust choose the Tost-Tosonbomba Mountains to locate our first ever comprehensive research initiative due to the high density of snow leopards and the conservation importance of …

Follow the Cats Update: Orjan Checks the Clusters while the Cats are on Patrol

We have had a rare fortnight with no new snow leopard collared! The law of averages seems to be catching up after so many weeks where there have been at least one–and sometimes even two–snow leopards collared within a single night. Orjan is wondering if they have figured out his strategy. The truth is that …

Mining Permits in Mongolia Threaten Snow Leopard Habitat and Local Communities

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 …

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 …