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In early May, Snow Leopard Trust researchers affixed GPS collars to three snow leopards in the Tost mountains of South Gobi. Our team of international and Mongolian conservationists have safely collared more individual snow leopards than any other study ever undertaken. The knowledge gathered is crucial to understanding their ecology and helps inform where and how conservation programs are implemented to protect them. On this field trip, our team collared three adult cats: two females and a male. This brings the total number of individual snow leopards tracked via GPS collar to 40. None of the three newcomers to the study are the territorial cats in the area. We believe they were just passing through, perhaps scouting for vacant areas. Team member Dr. Nadia Mijiddorj monitors snow leopard F17. One of the females, Altai, which means gold in Mongolian (F17 – pictured at top of post), traveled all the way west. We think she resides in what used to be Agnes’ and Dagina’s range. The other female, Mandal, which means rise/sunrise (F18), appears to reside in the area around East Valley where Uus Khaigh (M20) lived and Chingis (M14) still resides. The male, Salkhi, which means wind (M23), has perhaps taken over Uus Khaigh’s (M20) territory, but it is too early to tell. He had some wounds that probably stemmed from territorial fights with other males. We don’t know too much about these new snow leopards yet. Camera trap images and collar data will provide a more detailed picture of their lives over the coming months. Unfortunately, two males we had collared earlier died in late March. Uus Khaigh (M20) appeared to have been killed in a territorial fight with another male. Because of his wounds, we wonder if perhaps M23 may have been involved in the fight. M20 was around eight years old and had held his territory for four years. Typically, males appear to be able to defend their territories until they are about ten years old, so M20 losing his territory (and life) was at a slightly younger age than what we have previously seen. M22 died at around the same time of unknown causes. He had settled in a hilly area between the crater and Toson Bumba. The area does not contain any prime snow leopard habitat and we have never seen a snow leopard residing there, although many cats have passed through. We think he was four to five years old, which means he should have been big and experienced enough to establish a territory. Perhaps there were no vacant territories available and he resided in this area while waiting for an opportunity to establish one. A shortage of available space could also explain why M20 lost his territory and life at a rather young age, as less space should cause more intense fights. Ibex updates Collaring and tracking ibex, a key prey species for snow leopards, is a vital part of our research to understand the intricate dynamics between predators and their prey, specifically how their movements and spatial patterns influence one another. But collaring a prey animal like an ibex in a humane, ethically appropriate way is easier said than done in harsh wind-swept mountain terrain. Over the years, our team has developed a number of methods, some of which have been successful while others are still under development.  Senior Scientist Dr. Orjan Johannson recently laid out the whole list of plans and explained the latest strategy below. (For those keeping count, we’re on Plan G.) Our research team will return to Tost in the fall to see if Plan G works. Plan A: Trap baited with salt licks (Turns out that nearly all mountain ungulates love salt except for ibex in Gobi!) Plan B: Trap baited with apples and carrots (Pikas took  them – these small mammals are closely related to rabbits – some might say they’re adorable unless you’re a scientist trying to collar ibex!) Pika Plan C: Trap baited with water (this would have worked, but refilling regularly isn’t easy in a desert!) Plan D: Trap was moved and placed on top of a small water hole/spring (the trap was then washed away and buried 150 m downstream in the heaviest rainfall of the last 40 years!) Plan E: Sit and wait for ibex at a water hole (this worked, but the wind caught the darts and 90% bounced off before injecting the drugs). Plan F: An ibex feeder dispatched a small amount of goat feed pellets every day (Turns out that ibex don’t like the pellets or anything else we put in the feeder. But pikas do!) Plan G: CURRENT PLAN – Two artificial water holes.  Says Orjan, “We have moved our ibex trap to a small well that our biologist Buren uses mainly to water his horses. It’s located near a small ravine and ibex commonly come and drink together with the horses, seemingly unbothered by the person drawing up water from the well. We built a small water hole in cement inside the trap and the plan is to always have water in there, teaching the ibex to go there to drink. Building a waterhole for the trap at Buren’s well. We also built a slightly larger water hole in the central part of Tost and placed a 1000 liter water tank close to it, fitted with a small solar-powered pump. This should ensure that the water hole is always full. Once animals come and drink, we can increase the amount of water that is pumped up. It should hopefully not take too long before the ibex learn that there is a new water source there. We left Tost feeling, ‘This time, we’ve thought of everything!’ Though given the history of our ibex capture attempts, we might come back with Plan F in 2025…” Building a waterhole at Yamanoos. http://snowleopard.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Drop_net.mp4 Orjan testing the drop net Orjan also sent the photo below and added this: “While we are puzzled and slightly annoyed that it could be this difficult to capture ibex, we admit that they are fascinating creatures. They are commonly very skittish, but now and then, they seem completely unbothered by our presence. We often have ibex sleeping just outside our camp in the mornings. On this trip, we counted around 21 ibex, some of them sound asleep despite us being outside making noise just 70-80 m from them. The snow leopards hunt mainly from dusk to dawn and we wonder if the ibex use our camp as protection from the cats. It seems as if they seek us out and stay closer to us at night than you would have expected.” Sign up for our monthly E-News to get all the latest field updates! This long-term ecological study is in collaboration with Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation in Mongolia and Snow Leopard Trust, with special thanks to the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, the Government of Mongolia, and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences for their support. We would also like to acknowledge: National Geographic Society, Acton Family Giving, Bioparc Zoo de Doue la Fontaine, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park, John Ball Zoo, Kolmarden Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo, Nordens Ark, Parco Zoo Punta Verde, Play for Nature, Tierpark Berlin, The Big Cat Sanctuary/Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Tulsa Zoo, Whitley Fund for Nature, Zoo Basel, Zoo Dresden, Zoo New England and the many incredible partners who have supported programs like our Long-term Ecological Study and research in Mongolia since it began in 2008. We could not do this work without you. Photo credits: Snow Leopard Trust and SLCF-Mongolia. Photo of F17 at top of post by Chris Beard and Snow Leopard Trust Explorer in Residence, Dan O’Neill. The post Exciting Field Updates! Three New Cats in Tracking Study appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Camera trapping is always an arduous task – but our researchers faced exceptional challenges during this pilot survey. The group set out shortly after heavy rains and floods in Himachal Pradesh, the province where the National Park is located, which destroyed many of the wooden bridges built by the Forest Department. Teams had to wade across waist-deep (and cold) water while carrying heavy equipment above their heads to avoid any damage. Even the trails that weren’t washed out were overgrown with grass taller than an average person. Already narrow paths were barely visible, with steep cliffs on the other side! Wading through a river in Tirthan valley. Credit – Tanzin Thuktan While the data are still being analyzed, we know how valuable this incredible effort from our team members will be for enhancing our understanding of where and to what extent common leopards and snow leopards overlap in these valleys. We also hope to better understand how human development and climate change may affect this in the future. Typically, common leopards in the study region are found below the treeline and hunt prey such as goral, a relatively small-bodied mountain ungulate. In contrast, snow leopards are found above the treeline and hunt the larger blue sheep. However, at elevations where both species occur, we are unsure if they hunt the same prey and compete for resources. Somewhat unexpectedly, our researchers recorded a high number of common leopards in the Tirthan Valley, while we did not detect any snow leopards. This may be due to insufficient sampling of snow leopard habitats in this area since much of the valley was inaccessible and unsafe due to the heavy rains and floods. Another surprise was the detection of a common leopard scent marking at 4,000 meters elevation in the same location where a snow leopard marking was found during a 2019 survey. This is quite high up for a common leopard, though these are preliminary observations. Along with common leopards and snow leopards, our researchers were delighted to find the Western Tragopan, a rare bird that is classified as Vulnerable. Because this survey spanned a significant altitudinal gradient, including lower elevations than we usually set out cameras in, we also spotted several species we don’t often see or associate with snow leopards, like rhesus macaques. The Great Himalayan National Park is an ecologically diverse landscape and this survey beautifully showcases the habitat transitioning along elevation gradients, including broadleaf evergreen forests, coniferous forests, grassy alpine meadows with rocky outcrops and glacial peaks. Click to view slideshow. We plan to continue this survey in future years to better understand these two big cat species and their converging spotted kingdoms. Sign up for our monthly E-News to get more fascinating updates from the field delivered to your inbox. We would like to thank the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department for providing permits to carry out this work. We also thank several forest guards, local guides and porters, and the NCF field team from Kibber for carrying out the fieldwork. Photo credits: ​​Nature Conservation Foundation, Snow Leopard Trust, Himachal Pradesh Forest Department The post Where Spotted Kingdoms Converge appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

This team workshop, held in Seattle, WA, was a long-awaited reunion for our staff, some of whom hadn’t seen each other in person since 2016. For our newer staff members, it was a heartwarming introduction to the team – with members traveling from around the US, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Sweden, the UK and Qatar. After years of Zoom meetings at odd hours, the joy of being together, without the separation of multiple time zones, was truly inspiring! Click to view slideshow. But the benefits of a diverse and caring global team far outweigh any scheduling woes – and that sentiment was on full display last week as we gathered to discuss important and timely issues facing global conservation. Our team spent the first two days reaching a shared understanding of the definition of ethical conservation and Snow Leopard Trust’s role in promoting it within our networks and the global conservation community. Topics ranged from how we view and treat animals to strengthening the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in research and conservation. No topics were off-limit for this diverse cultural and multidisciplinary gathering. We are proud to have a team that is committed to a sensitive and inclusive outlook on conservation and willing to embrace complex and delicate subjects to improve how nature conservation is practiced. It wasn’t all heady discussions, though. We left time for team-building and fun – including trips to Woodland Park Zoo (just days after three new snow leopard cubs were born!), Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market and a hike along the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. Click to view slideshow. While we were sad to part ways, we came away with a solid framework for understanding ethical conservation and the next steps we will take to further these critical discussions and promote them within and outside the Snow Leopard Trust Partner Network – including the newly formed Ethical Conservation Alliance. Executive Director Dr. Charu Mishra shared an inspirational quote from Margaret Mead as we ended our workshop: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. We are a small but impactful team, in no small part thanks to supporters like you, who care about and support our mission. Together, we will ensure a future for snow leopards by committing to ethical, inclusive and community-led conservation practices. Thank you to the Trust for Mutual Understanding for their support of this workshop. Special thanks to these organizations for their support of the Ethical Conservation Alliance: Whitley Fund for Nature, Melkus Family Foundation, Acacia Conservation Fund, Kenmour M. & Marjorie Spencer Wild Animal Fund at Bainbridge Community Foundation and Snow Leopard Trust. The post 33 people. 8 nations. 4 days. ONE VISION. appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

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