On a bitingly cold February afternoon in 2022, at -25 degrees Celsius, Kalzang Gurmet, field manager for Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) in Spiti, sat cross-legged on a floor mattress in our unpretentious homestay. We were in Kibber, a high-altitude village in Spiti, 4,200 m above sea level. The warmth of the bukhari enveloped us like a warm hug as we huddled closer to it. Amidst cups of milky tea and phone calls about potential snow leopard sightings, Kalzang told me a story I will never forget. In 2020, a male snow leopard died close to the village of Kibber. He had strayed into the village a few days earlier, had his fill of livestock, and passed away gently in the vicinity of the village he probably thought of as home. In Kibber, the villagers gathered not with resentment over lost livestock, but with reverence — mourning the snow leopard as a cherished presence on their land. They joined in his cremation, offering Buddhist prayers and a traditional scarf, a tribute kept for the most honoured of beings. Over the last few decades, Kibber has led the way and become a model of human-carnivore coexistence. But it was not always this way. In the 1990s, a snow leopard entered the livestock pen of a homestay in Kibber. As is typical when it enters a livestock pen, the cat killed around 15-20 goats and sheep. The woman of the house entered the pen in the morning to get milk. To her horror, she found the snow leopard sleeping inside, next to the dead livestock, and quickly latched the door. Livid, she informed the rest of her family and neighbours. The villagers started gathering in large numbers — anger mounting with every new arrival. Each of them had their own snow leopard story. Consumed by resentment and anger, they brought weapons, knives and ropes. The snow leopard was killed. The communities living in the Upper Spiti landscape are mostly Tibetan Buddhists and largely agro-pastoral. Most pastoral communities, since they rely on livestock for their livelihood, have always been antagonistic towards predators. Attacks by predators like the snow leopard and wolves resulted in huge financial losses, so the resentment was natural and retaliatory persecution frequent. For nearly 25 years, Tanzin Thinley, field manager at NCF and Kibber resident, has worked with the community to mitigate this conflict. “When I was growing up, the antagonism was really intense,” said Thinley. “Community members would go looking for wolf dens. They would smoke the dens, kill wolves and bring back the pups. The pups would be used as evidence to prove that they had killed the adults. They would carry them from house to house across villages and demand compensation for ‘preventing future losses’. We conducted a survey in 2003-04 to understand people’s attitudes towards predators, particularly snow leopards. At Kibber, nearly thirty per cent thought complete eradication of snow leopards was necessary.” In September, 2025, the Spiti Valley was declared the country’s first cold desert biosphere reserve under the UNESCO man and the biosphere (MAB) programme. In the late 80s and 90s, Spiti’s economy was still driven by livestock rearing and barley farming, with a barter system sustaining life. Ladakh’s Changpa pastoralists arrived with carpets, Chinese-made goods, and wool to swap for barley, and Spitians took their prized Chamurthi horses to Changthang. Later, some higher villages began harvesting green peas as a cash crop, a shift that nudged the valley toward a money-based economy. Roads were poor, phones rare, and there was, of course, no Internet. It was during this time, in 1996, that PhD student Charudutt Mishra first arrived in Upper Spiti to study mountain herbivores. At the time, he wouldn’t have imagined that his interventions — combined with the community’s commitment — would transform coexistence in the landscape and create one of India’s great conservation triumphs. “At the time, the community relied heavily on livestock, hence all the pastures were severely overgrazed. Consequently, my PhD examined the competition for food between livestock and wild herbivores, especially blue sheep,” Mishra said on a video call from Bengaluru. Wild herbivore populations were declining because of this competition. Mishra proposed an experiment to the Kibber community: that they set aside part of their pasture land for wild animals and not graze livestock there. These areas would be called village reserves. The community agreed, and something unexpected happened. Blue sheep found these undisturbed areas with abundant food and moved there, leading to a steep increase in their numbers. Interestingly, another consequence of this experiment was that snow leopards — the enigmatic cats — that even locals had only fleetingly seen in the past, began to frequent the Kibber landscape. It was not just blue sheep, the phantom of the precipices had also found a safe space in a village in Upper Spiti. The success of the grazing reserves sparked new questions in Mishra’s mind. Even if it went beyond the purview of his PhD, he knew he had to turn his attention to the cats — to their predation of livestock, and the uneasy relationship they shared with the people of Spiti. So began Mishra’s relationship with the snow leopard and over three decades of conservation work. Today, as Founder-Trustee of NCF and Executive Director of the International Snow Leopard Trust, he has been honoured with international awards, including by the Whitley Fund for Nature, for his efforts to protect the cat and involve local communities across its 12-country range. Yet, for him, everything began in Kibber. Livestock grazing remains one of the most common livelihoods in Spiti. Years before conservation efforts kickstarted, attacks by snow leopard on livestock put the community at odds with the predator. “The people of Kibber thought of snow leopards as pests. I realised that to truly understand the extent of this conflict, I needed to understand the people and the landscape better,” said Mishra. His deep understanding of the local conflict with wild predators made way for the first community-managed livestock insurance programme in 2002. While the state’s compensation system (which pays pastoralists for loss of livestock to predator killings) was in place, it frequently failed to cover the scale of loss. “By my estimates, the community was losing 12 per cent of livestock to snow leopards and wolves, but only being compensated on average for a mere 3 per cent of the financial loss. Additionally, compensation programmes tend to reinforce the idea that it is someone else’s problem that people are being compensated for. Our idea was to support the community in taking charge of and managing their own problems,” Mishra said. His experience in conflict resolution is clearly a useful skill in his Bengaluru home as well, where he gently but effectively tried to dissuade his dog from eating the cat’s food during our video call. The livestock insurance programme was the first project Thinley worked on when he joined Mishra’s efforts. Thinley points out that although this programme has its own set of challenges, they often push the organisation and community to come up with workable solutions. Reinforcing corrals or livestock pens is another innovative measure that has reduced livestock predation and, in turn, reduced the retaliatory killing of predators. Livestock are kept in pens in every traditional Spitian household. These are often flimsy, unfortified structures that predators can easily breach. Snow leopards take advantage of the frailty of these structures and enter corral pens. When they get access to the corrals, it often results in mass livestock mortality inside the pen. The enclosed space leads them to kill far more than they can eat. An attack like this could potentially wipe out the herder’s income in one night. “An attack like this also increases the chance of the snow leopard being attacked and killed. The simple idea, to collaboratively reinforce and predator-proof these livestock pens, has helped protect the livestock, the community’s financial stability, and the lives of snow leopards. It’s a win-win for everyone,” says Thinley, adding that community work only succeeds if it’s embedded in daily life. Blue sheep (above) and ibex are a snow leopard’s primary prey. More recently, the big cats are seen often in Kibber, where abundant blue sheep have drawn them closer and, in turn, fuelled a surge in tourism. With the increase in blue sheep presence, Kibber had become one of those rare places in the world where snow leopards could be spotted at eye level in the winter. This increased visibility of the snow leopards made the community, already catering to summer tourists, realise that, despite the sub-optimal winter weather, wildlife tourism could be a reality. The idea was encouraged by some tourist outfitters and supported by organisations like NCF, which provided naturalist and tourism training. The village already had a few homestays. Slowly, more tourists started visiting in winter in the hope of catching a glimpse of one of the world’s most mysterious cats. By 2014, a breed of wildlife enthusiasts, photographers and filmmakers began to see the beauty and allure of white, sub-zero winters at Kibber. The sightings that followed in the next few years set off a ripple of excitement among the wildlife community. “I saw my first snow leopard ten years after I first landed in Spiti; travellers are now seeing snow leopards on their first trip, even their first day!” laughed Mishra, shrugging his shoulders. A snow leopard peered at me from his Zoom background. When Mishra first arrived, there were only one or two homestays in Kibber. Today, of the 80 houses, 46 are homestays in the winter. Winter tourism has also picked up for nearby villages like Chichim and Langza, and created a ripple effect on towns like Kaza at lower elevations. Mishra shares that estimates from a few years ago indicate that Kibber alone makes Rs 1.25 crores in the 2-3 winter months each year. The tourism model has been successful in Upper Spiti because the entire community shares the profit in one way or another. “Mountain communities are very closely knit,” said Thinley, “we share our joys and our grief. That has always held us in good stead. The profits from tourism don’t just go to the homestay owners; people from the community are now trained as trackers or guides. Some work as porters. The widows in the village are also included — their yaks are used to take tourists closer to the snow leopards.” The women of the village who used to spend their winters brewing local beer, looking after livestock, and making small handicrafts for home use were roped in by the NCF with the idea that their handicrafts could become a source of income. Women began knitting mufflers, socks, gloves, and even snow leopard–themed merchandise, which soon found eager buyers among visitors staying at local homestays. Over time, their work expanded beyond Spiti, finding a foothold in national markets such as the Dastkari Haat in Delhi. And when the pandemic hit, cutting off external support, the women adapted swiftly. They started going door-to-door at homestays, meeting tourists directly and selling their wares with confidence. What began as a small intervention had grown into a self-sustaining enterprise — powered by the women’s own skill and ingenuity. Tourism has fuelled the winter economy of Upper Spiti. And this has played a significant role in changing people’s attitudes towards the snow leopard. Click to view slideshow. I recall what Lara Tsering, Langza resident, tour operator, and guide for my 2022 trip to Spiti, had told me as I was labouring my way breathlessly through the snow to see my first snow leopard. “Snow leopard tourism has changed winters in Spiti. It has positively impacted the lives of a large group of people. We used to think of the snow leopard as a demon at one point; we now think of it as a benevolent God.” I stood at the edge of a steep precipice wearing four layers, a balaclava, and gloves. The wind was still piercing through the layers into my body. I had stood in ankle-deep snow for over three hours. Tsering constantly reminded me to keep moving my hands and feet to prevent frostbite. I faced another vertical cliff — with a valley between us — where there were not one, but two snow leopards. A mating pair. I had arrived in Kibber just that morning, and my brain was still frozen from the windchill. And yet, thanks to the incredible network of trackers and guides, here I was already face-to-face and breathing the same air as this gorgeous spectral cat. I was struck with awe and gratitude. Mishra may have taken ten years to see his first snow leopard, but thanks to him, Thinley, Kalzang, and everyone else who has worked to conserve this species, I had the privilege of spotting it on the day I arrived. Three years on, the cliffs, the snow, and the leopards are still hauntingly present in my mind. The article first appeared in Frontline as The Snow Leopard’s Village on Nov 30, 2025. A version of the piece was republished in Roundglass Sustain, a social impact initiative telling stories of India’s natural world to create awareness and support conservation.  Photo credits: Dhrtiman Mukherjee/ Roundglass Sustain The post Where the Snow Leopard Lives Among its People appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

We’ve been studying snow leopards in Mongolia’s Tost Mountains for almost 17 years. In that time, we’ve gotten to know many individual cats from our collaring study. Physical features and quirky behaviors quickly become personality traits that we impart on these snow leopards. While we are strong believers in rigorous science, a little anthropomorphizing now and then helps us connect to the wild and demystify complex ecology. We hope you enjoy the quiz! QUIZ START The post Snow Leopard Personality Quiz appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Using GPS collar data, our team investigated the locations of GPS “clusters” where our collared cats spent extended time, often indicating a kill site or den. This year, for the first time, we analyzed clusters from F12 and F19, two females with young cubs about three months old. Our team backtracked through older GPS data to examine their behavior in the weeks around the time of birth. What emerged was striking: both females engaged in intensive feeding before entering their dens to give birth, then went weeks without killing large prey. F12 consumed two foals in the ten days before denning. F19 ate one ibex and two goats in her final two weeks before giving birth. To put this in perspective, snow leopards typically hunt one large prey animal every eight to nine days. These pre-birth feeding sessions seemed to be deliberate—as if the mothers were consciously stockpiling energy. Male ibex After giving birth, both females went for an extended period without killing large prey. F12 killed her first large prey 14 days after giving birth. F19 waited even longer—27 days. F19’s movements from June 20 to July 13 During this time, the mothers remained close to their dens, nursing and protecting their vulnerable newborns. The energy reserves built up during those pre-birth feasts sustained them through this critical period when leaving the cubs to go on longer hunting trips would expose them to significant risks. The data revealed another intriguing pattern: prey choice changed after birth. Before denning, both females killed a mix of wild prey and livestock. After giving birth, they hunted almost exclusively wild ibex. Although the sample size is very limited, this possible shift may be related to risk assessment. Hunting livestock often brings cats closer to human settlements, perhaps an acceptable risk when a female is alone, but with potentially much higher costs when she has vulnerable cubs to protect. Our previous research has suggested that females with cubs prey on livestock less frequently, likely for this reason. This observation also connects to the different maternal strategies we’ve documented in F12 and F19. F12, an experienced ten-year-old mother, appears more willing to take calculated risks to provide food for her cubs. F19, younger and less experienced, tends toward more cautious approaches. Both strategies reflect the same underlying priority: keeping cubs alive in a harsh landscape. Waterhole where F19 spent a day and a half Once the cubs were old enough to leave the den, both mothers regularly stashed them near waterholes. Since the cubs were old enough to eat meat by this point, the proximity to water wasn’t about milk production. Instead, it likely reflects the broader importance of water sources in this arid mountain environment—places where shade, shelter and resources naturally concentrate. Tracking these females closely revealed just how constrained their movements became with young cubs. They travel far less than other snow leopards, their territories shrinking to accommodate the needs of offspring too small to follow them on longer journeys. The intensive preparation before birth, the extended fasting period after, the strategic shift in prey choice, the careful choice of cub-stashing sites—all of it underscores the extraordinary energy, planning and sacrifice motherhood demands. Sign up for our monthly E-News to keep up with all the cats and our conservation efforts to protect them. Photo credits: SLCF-Mongolia Acknowledgments: 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 for Environment and Green Development, the Government of Mongolia, and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences for their support. SLT would also like to acknowledge: Acton Family Giving, Bioparc Zoo de Doue la Fontaine, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Dublin Zoo, Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park, John Ball Zoo, Kolmarden Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo, Knopf Family Foundation, National Geographic Society, Nordens Ark, Parco Zoo Punta Verde, Play for Nature, Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation, Tierpark Berlin, The Big Cat Sanctuary/Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Tulsa Zoo, Whitley Fund for Nature, Zoo Basel, Zoo Boise, Zoo Dresden, and Zoo New England. Thank you to all the many committed partners who have supported our research in Mongolia along with our Long-term Ecological Study since it began in 2008. We could not do this work without you. The post Eating for Two (or Three): How Snow Leopard Mothers Stockpile Energy appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

The National Forum on Snow Leopard Conservation took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on September 5. This critical summit was convened by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, WCS Mongolia, and our partner, the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation. The forum brought together over 130 stakeholders, including experts from eleven range countries. The event highlighted both the progress made since the last national gathering in 2008 and the need for better coordination moving forward. “In the last 4-5 years, there has been a high incidence of snow leopard encounters, livestock conflicts and unregulated tourism in snow leopard landscapes,” explains Purevjav (Pujii) Lkhagvajav, Executive Director of SLCF Mongolia. “This forum was organized because there was an urgent need for organizations working on snow leopard conservation and the Ministry to get together in one room and discuss policy issues.” Mongolia plays a crucial role in the conservation of this majestic species, which has the second-highest snow leopard population after China. However, the dangers facing Mongolia’s snow leopards today are dramatically different from those of two decades ago. Linear infrastructure has emerged as a significant new threat, especially as Mongolia proposes an ambitious new project. A railroad network linking the west and east, extending the existing north-south line, is likely to impact a significant portion of the country’s snow leopard habitat. This is cause for alarm, as the 2021 population assessment showed that the cats have high connectivity across the country. Critically, this connectivity could be threatened if new infrastructure projects fail to maintain habitat corridors, a risk magnified by the cats’ low genetic diversity. In addition to physical threats like infrastructure, the forum tackled a less obvious but equally important challenge: how to coordinate the wealth of snow leopard data now being collected across Mongolia. Twenty years ago, there was little data on snow leopards. Scientists struggled to understand their basic ecology. Over the last two decades, we have gathered extensive knowledge of snow leopard behavior and ecology, encompassing habitat use and home-range size to diet and denning behavior. This progress has translated into critical conservation action, notably the successful protection of nearly 900,000 hectares of snow leopard habitat in the Mongolian South Gobi. But success brought a new challenge to snow leopard conservationists: multiple organizations now conduct research and monitoring across the country, with no central coordination. This forum was an opportunity to establish that coordination and articulate a shared vision for the future of the species. Collaborative efforts will be needed to address population assessments, unregulated tourism and other concerns that require input from many stakeholders across the country. To address these issues, the Snow Leopard National Forum held three breakout group discussions on National Coordination of Monitoring and Research, Community-Based Conservation and Unregulated Tourism, and Linear Infrastructure Impact and Wildlife Corridor. They discussed concrete plans to strengthen existing national monitoring systems and identify crucial corridors for protection. The forum concluded with the official launch of a national snow leopard conservation network, establishing a unified path forward. This new central network will coordinate all conservation activities and research, ensuring that future actions and policy decisions are driven by the best available scientific data. Sign up for our monthly E-News to receive all the latest snow leopard conservation updates. Photo credits: Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation – Mongolia The post Mongolia Unifies to Combat New Threats to Snow Leopards appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Thanks to a new initiative by our partner organization, the Nature Conservation Foundation, a growing group of Indigenous women has transitioned from viewing snow leopards as threats to actively tracking them, identifying individuals by their rosette patterns and contributing to vital population estimates. Led by conservationist Deepshikha Sharma, this initiative recently launched its own website and is transforming attitudes and perceptions of snow leopards. Camera Trapping The program began with 11 women from Kibber village in Spiti Valley learning to monitor wildlife in their traditional pastures during winter using camera traps. Camera trapping is a non‑invasive method that captures images of animals as they move through the landscape, providing insights into species diversity, population size and behaviour without disturbing the wildlife. The women discuss how the cameras work The women took turns setting off the practice camera The women practice setting up a camera The all-woman team places camera traps at 10 locations covering 144 sq km of snow leopard landscape at the start of November each year, during the onset of winter, when animals may exhibit different behaviours or utilise different areas than in other seasons. Using snow‑leopard micro‑habitat clues—scat, scent marks, and scrape marks—the team identifies ten strategic spots, such as cliff faces and ridgelines, where cats are most likely to travel. The women trek back to each site, verify that cameras are still functioning, and swap out batteries or memory cards as needed. By March, as the snow begins to melt, the team collects the cameras and prepares for the next step of image processing. In just two years of operation, the project has already produced a valuable archive of winter wildlife activity—documenting snow leopards, ibex, blue sheep, and a host of smaller mammals using the landscape. These images are now feeding into long‑term studies that track population trends, habitat use, and seasonal shifts in behaviour. Women of Mane village learning the settings of camera traps. Image Tagging Camera trapping generates thousands of raw images, which require additional information to be added to make them useful for analysis. The women manually tag each image to identify which species appear in each image, along with other important observations. While cameras automatically record details like time and location, identifying the animal itself requires a trained human eye. This meticulous work transforms thousands of random photos into organized data that can be readily filtered, sorted and analyzed. It’s the foundation for understanding how animals use their habitat, estimating population sizes, tracking species interactions, and revealing patterns in wildlife activity across the winter landscape. After retrieving the winter camera traps, the team painstakingly processes thousands of photographs, assigning species tags to each file. Their efforts have revealed a rich tapestry of wildlife. Alongside the iconic snow leopard, the cameras have captured wolves, red foxes, stone martens, ibex, blue sheep, mountain weasels and birds such as chukars and Himalayan snowcocks. To date, the women have tagged close to 100,000 images from their own winter surveys in the Spiti Valley. Their contribution extends far beyond the local area. They have also tagged more than one million images collected across the Greater Himalayan and Trans‑Himalayan regions of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir as part of the larger rangewide PAWS (Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards) effort. This extensive, meticulously curated image library now serves as a valuable resource for researchers studying high‑altitude ecosystems and the species that depend on them. Snow leopard captured on one of the first cameras placed by the original team of women camera trappers. Rosette ID and Population Assessment To estimate the population of snow leopards in a region, the first step is to identify individual snow leopards from camera-trap image data. Individual snow leopards are identified by unique rosette patterns on their bodies, especially on the head, flanks, rump, and upper parts of the tail. To determine whether two images depict the same leopard, researchers compare at least three distinct markings; if the patterns match, the images are assigned to the same individual, whereas differing patterns indicate unique individuals. Time-lapse of a full day’s work! http://snowleopard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/work-time-lapse.mp4 Although software tools exist for identifying individuals of other wildlife, snow leopards present a unique challenge. Their long, dense and often ruffled fur obscures fine details, making automated pattern‑recognition algorithms unreliable. Consequently, the identification process is largely manual, relying on the keen eyes and meticulous attention of trained observers. Any mistake at this stage introduces significant bias into subsequent population estimates, underscoring the importance of precision, patience, skill and attention to detail. The women have examined thousands of snow leopard images from a high‑density area, comparing every image to identify distinct individuals and build profiles for each snow leopard. As more profiles are built across the landscape, they will serve as the foundation for accurate population assessments of snow leopards, with the team continually refining their methods to maximise precision. Dog Population Monitoring In human-dominated landscapes around the world, dogs are the most abundant terrestrial carnivores. While many are beloved companions, free‑ranging dogs can threaten livestock, disturb native wildlife and create new challenges for local livelihoods. In the last few years, the free-ranging dog population in the Spiti Valley has been rising—an increase closely tied to the region’s booming tourism industry. Understanding these dynamics is essential for protecting both people and the fragile ecosystem. In Spiti Valley, monitoring the dog population is a critical community effort. While residents across the region help track dog numbers, the villages of Kibber and Chicham have taken this responsibility a step further: local women conduct the annual dog population surveys. They track trends over time and evaluate the effectiveness of community-run sterilization camps, which are coordinated in partnership with local authorities. This work provides essential data to mitigate threats posed by livestock and protect native wildlife. The impact of this work extends far beyond data collection. Knowledge is power. By engaging women as monitors, researchers, and decision-makers, the women involved now have data, information, and agency. They can advocate for snow leopards and wildlife protection in their own villages. They’re sharing what they learn with neighbors, creating connections between the whole community and the natural world. This sense of ownership—of both the problems and the solutions—is what makes conservation truly sustainable. Deepshikha is excited to share that 30 more women from the villages of Chicham, Mane, and Demul have recently received training and joined this initiative. What started as a winter snow leopard monitoring program has the potential to become something much larger. Deepshikha’s goal is to expand this model beyond Spiti Valley, creating a network of women-led conservation across the entire trans-Himalayan region. Sign up for our monthly E-News to receive all the latest snow leopard conservation updates. Photo credits: Wildlife Wing of Himachal Pradesh Forest Department and Nature Conservation Foundation, NCF-India Acknowledgements: Women in Conservation is an initiative of the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). This initiative would not have been possible without the support of the indigenous communities of the trans-Himalayan landscape and our supporters: Conservation Nation, Disney Conservation Fund and Snow Leopard Trust. The post The Ghost Trackers: How Indigenous Women are Leading Snow Leopard Conservation in the Himalayas appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Cameras capture only a glimpse into the lives of these majestic cats. Still, even these glimpses provide crucial information about their population, reproductive habits, communication patterns and survival rates that would be nigh impossible to gather by other means. Our expert team has sorted through thousands of images to isolate photographs of snow leopards and other animals captured by camera traps across Mongolia’s Tost Mountains in 2024. We have monitored the snow leopard population of this protected area for 18 years, generating unprecedented insights into the lives of individual cats and the species as a whole.  Sharing these images is one of our favorite ways to connect with our supporters, so we hope you enjoy these candid snow leopard selfies! And while they are certainly adorable and epic, they also help to drive our conservation strategies. In a world inundated with selfies, these stand out, enhancing our understanding of this magnificent species and guiding our efforts to protect them. Initial Observations Snow leopards were photographed on 33 of 43 cameras set out in 2024, resulting in 86 encounters (an encounter may generate multiple photos but represents a single visit by a snow leopard within a 1-hour cut-off period). Our team identified individual snow leopards in 84 of the 86 encounters. Identifying cats based on their rosettes is very challenging, so a 98% success rate is great! Our cameras captured nine resident adult snow leopards from previous years, three new adult snow leopards establishing themselves and six cats of undetermined status (possibly transients or subadults who may establish in the coming years). The total number of adult cats captured on cameras in 2024 was at least 12 and possibly as many as 18. New Resident Adult Cats F19 was born in 2020 to Guiererro, seen on cameras every year since then, and has now established herself in Tost. She was collared in spring 2025 and our researchers could tell she had given birth before, either in 2023 or 2024. We did not see her with cubs in either year, so it’s possible she lost the litter before the camera survey. New Mum resides in the southeast of Tost and was first detected in 2024, with three cubs trailing behind her. She appears to have taken over Clown’s area. M25 was first photographed in 2023 as a suspected young transient. He has since established himself in a crater in the northeast of Tost. He appears to have taken over, or is attempting to take over, Kurzawa’s territory. He was collared in September 2025. F19 exploring F19 marking and smelling! M25 sniffing and walking by a vista M25 walks by a different camera New and Returning Cubs We encountered three snow leopard females with young cubs born in 2024. As mentioned above, New Mum had three cubs, Zaya had two cubs and an unknown female was accompanied by two cubs. The unknown female was off camera when her cubs were photographed, but they were seen on cameras far enough away from New Mum and Zaya that we’re certain they are a third litter. This means seven snow leopard cubs were born in 2024! zaya new mum short We also encountered one female with second-year cubs (born in 2023). We could not identify her as she was too close to the camera, but we suspect it is F10 or F12 based on the location and known females with cubs born in 2023. Four other females gave birth to cubs in 2023, but we didn’t encounter any of their cubs on cameras. We saw one of the moms, Nandu, but her cubs weren’t with her and we don’t know if she lost the litter or was simply traveling alone. Established Females In addition to F19, Zaya and New Mum, who we discussed above, we encountered six established females. Cats from previous years were seen in roughly the same areas as in past surveys. Antoine resides in western Tost and was born to Anu in 2015. Antoine has had two litters, in 2019 and 2022. F17 resides in Toson Bumba and was born in 2021 to F10. She was collared in April 2024. Nandu resides in the southwest of Tost and has been seen on our cameras since 2021. She gave birth to three cubs in 2023, her first litter known to us. Zaya lives in southeast Tost and has been seen on our cameras since 2018. She was seen with two new cubs in 2024, the third litter we know of, though it may be her fourth. F17 visited this watering hole multiple times F17 yowling at the wind Antoine letting her intrusive thoughts win... Antoine having a "Wizard of Oz" technicolor moment! Established Males In addition to M25, we encountered six established males. Cats from previous years were encountered in roughly the same areas as in past surveys, except for Kurzawa. Batbayar has taken over the territory once held by one of Dagina’s male offspring and has been seen on cameras since 2023, when he was detected in northern and western Tost.  Kurzawa appears to have been pushed out of his regular home range in the northeast part of Tost and was seen further west than usual. We’ve seen him on camera since 2015, and he is at least 12 (an old man for a snow leopard!). M23 (Eight) lives in southeastern Tost and has been with us since 2021, when he was encountered as an adult. M24 (Angarag) resides in central Tost and has been with us since the autumn of 2024, when he was both collared and encountered on camera. Nomadic resides in south-central Tost and has been seen on cameras since 2021. Kurzawa making scrapes Batbayar in overcast and snowy conditions M24 or Angarag - which means Mars - channeling the Red Giant! Nomadic was only caught at night M23 may be our new selfie king - he sure loved this photo shoot! Cats To Be Determined Ant is probably a young cat and of unknown sex. This snow leopard was photographed many times on multiple cameras in an area where we didn’t detect any adult females, so Ant may be establishing themself here. We should know next year if we see this cat again. Cats Off Camera When conducting camera-trap surveys, it’s important to remember that we’re capturing snapshots of a highly mobile wild population. While we identified twelve cats in 2023 that weren’t detected in 2024, this may reflect the dynamic nature of snow leopard ecology in Tost rather than definitive loss, where the reduction in the number of cats encountered in 2024 probably reflects both actual losses of cats and also a few more cats than usual evading our cameras.  One rarely captures all animals in any survey, and we therefore account for this by estimating capture probability—the proportion of animals missed relative to those seen. Some cats, like F12/Willian (who we know is alive and well through her GPS collar), were not detected by any camera this year. We also know that three cats died in 2024 (F18, M20, and M22), likely due to aggressive encounters with other cats, as previously reported. The seven other undetected cats are Clown, F10, F11, Presnel, Bugs, M18, and Rando. Until we complete our 2025 camera survey and cross-reference the data, we can’t draw firm conclusions about their status. Several factors could explain their absence: natural mortality, territory shifts, or technical challenges. For example, this year, ten cameras experienced premature battery failure during the survey period, which may have resulted in a few missed encounters. Fortunately, these cameras were randomly distributed rather than clustered, minimizing potential bias. Such challenges are common while conducting difficult fieldwork under harsh conditions. While twelve individual snow leopards detected in 2023 were not recorded in 2024, this non-detection likely reflects the dynamic nature of snow leopard ecology in Tost—a mix of natural loss and some cats evading our cameras—rather than a definitive population reduction. It’s also crucial to maintain perspective: our Tost study area covers 1,500 km² within the snow leopard’s 2 million km² range. The patterns we observe here offer valuable local insights but don’t necessarily reflect range-wide trends. This is why long-term, consistent monitoring remains essential for understanding these elusive cats. By tracking individual snow leopards year after year through camera traps and GPS collars, we’re decoding key behaviors – from hunting strategies and habitat use to breeding patterns and cub survival rates. This growing knowledge allows us to make informed conservation decisions to protect both snow leopards and their fragile mountain ecosystems. Sign up for our monthly E-News to keep up with all the cats and our conservation efforts to protect them. Photo credits: SLCF-Mongolia Acknowledgments: 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 for Environment and Green Development, the Government of Mongolia, and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences for their support. SLT would also like to acknowledge: Acton Family Giving, Bioparc Zoo de Doue la Fontaine, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Dublin Zoo, Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park, John Ball Zoo, Kolmarden Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo, Knopf Family Foundation, National Geographic Society, Nordens Ark, Parco Zoo Punta Verde, Play for Nature, Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation, Tierpark Berlin, The Big Cat Sanctuary/Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Tulsa Zoo, Whitley Fund for Nature, Zoo Basel, Zoo Boise, Zoo Dresden, and Zoo New England. Thank you to all the many committed partners who have supported our research in Mongolia along with our Long-term Ecological Study since it began in 2008. We could not do this work without you. Special thanks to Enkhburen (Buren) Nyam, Choidogjamts “Choidog” Byambasuren, Temuulen “Temka” Ulziibadrakh, Purevjav “Pujii” Lkhagvajav, Dr. Gustaf Samelius and the Tost community rangers for all their work in implementing the camera trap research and painstakingly identifying these individual snow leopards! The post Snow Leopard Selfies: The 2024 Edition appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

High in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, an unlikely partnership is buzzing with possibility. Some local herding families are shifting their exclusive focus on livestock to include something sweeter—one that will make a difference for the endangered snow leopard. Beekeeping. What do honeybees have to do with snow leopards? Mountain communities have depended on grazing their animals across vast natural pastures for generations. But overgrazing is degrading the landscape, damaging the habitat that livestock, snow leopards and their prey need to survive. When livestock and wild animals compete for the same resources, it often spells trouble for both people and wildlife. Enter the humble honeybee. By incorporating beekeeping into their livelihoods, these mountain families can diversify their income beyond just herding. Selling honey provides an additional resource that works alongside nature. Less pressure on the pastures means healthier grasslands for all. The program is designed to benefit everyone involved. Community beekeepers contribute 20% of their honey sales to conservation efforts that protect both their livelihoods and local wildlife. This funding supports anti-poaching patrols, research cameras that monitor snow leopard populations and sustainable pasture management. In one community, rangers are even paid in liquid gold—honey serves as their salary.  Last year, seven communities in Kyrgyzstan maintained 200 beehives generating 1.75 tons of honey, and earning 40% above market rates for their snow leopard-friendly product. The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity. By diversifying their income sources, families can improve their financial security and resilience against the impacts of climate change, such as unpredictable weather and shifting conditions. At the same time, snow leopards benefit from a healthier habitat that supports a greater population of wild prey, reducing the likelihood of livestock attacks.  It’s a win-win solution that helps everyone.   This is what successful conservation looks like: families earning sustainable incomes, landscapes healing and snow leopards roaming healthy habitats. If you’d like to sample a jar of snow leopard-friendly honey, you can bid on one in our Online Auction.  But hurry, this sweet offer ends on Friday, October 24! All proceeds support our snow leopard conservation programs. Photo credits: SLCF-Kyrgyzstan Acknowledgements: We express our gratitude to the United Nations Environment Programme and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for making the Vanishing Treasures project possible. This effort is also co-funded by IUCN Save Our Species, Chester Zoo and Seneca Park Zoo. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Snow Leopard Trust and do not necessarily reflect the views of IUCN. Thank you to Snow Leopard Foundation of Kyrgyzstan and Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program for being key partners in this project. Huge thanks are also extended to the local communities in the Ala-Too for their participation and partnership. The post Sweet Solutions: How Honeybees Are Helping Snow Leopards appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Before this study, the genomes of only four snow leopards had been sequenced. This study brought that number up to 41, contributing a massive increase in our understanding of snow leopard genetics. Our team provided crucial support by sourcing samples for the Stanford scientists to sequence. Their findings tell an interesting story about the ancestry of snow leopards. Significantly, they found that snow leopards have the lowest genetic diversity among all big cat species, including cheetahs, which are well-known for their low genetic diversity. This is likely due to a persistently low, but stable, population size throughout their evolutionary history. Other species with low levels of genetic diversity often also have high rates of inbreeding, but researchers didn’t find evidence of this among snow leopards. This may be explained by a high level of connectivity between snow leopard populations, and because these intrepid cats have a penchant for traveling long distances between mountain ranges. Perhaps curiosity saved the cat? It’s impossible to know exactly how many snow leopards roamed Earth’s high peaks in the past, but this research suggests that their population has been consistently low during the last 900,000 years and then experienced a bottleneck about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago during the height of the last glaciation. But it seems even this apparent bottleneck, which may have halved their population, did not have a major impact on their genetic diversity, which is common after such occurrences.  All that was a long, long time ago. So what does it have to do with snow leopards today? While it’s reassuring that snow leopards don’t show high rates of inbreeding, a small population coupled with low genetic diversity means the species may be less able to adapt in a fast-changing world.  This is especially concerning, given that their habitat is already experiencing significant human-caused climate change and the growth of industry and development in their once inaccessible mountains. This remoteness was probably what kept the species secure despite its small population over millennia; the cats were able to endure because they were more removed from the pressures that humans have historically always put on predators.  That is no longer the reality, and conservation approaches will need to adapt if and when the snow leopard can’t. Our teams are working to address this growing threat in partnership with the Indigenous Peoples and local communities sharing these precarious mountains. Through livelihood adaptation programs, livestock care and management, and ethical research, we are fostering coexistence with snow leopards and securing their future. This groundbreaking work with Stanford opens new possibilities for our long-term research study of snow leopards. We’re continuing our collaboration to gather more samples that will help us understand the genetic structure of snow leopard populations and identify potential barriers to gene flow across their range.  One exciting possibility is using landscape genetics to map connectivity and animal movement across vast areas. This approach could reveal which landscape features act as barriers and which serve as dispersal corridors for snow leopards. While GPS collars are excellent for tracking individual movements, and cameras can show us movement between monitored sites, genetics may be the only tool that allows us to understand connectivity at large spatial scales. Sign up for our monthly E-News to get all the latest updates from the field delivered to your inbox. Read the full paper here. Photo credits: Ali Javed, SLCF-Mongolia Acknowledgments: Thank you to Stanford University, Bronx Zoo and all other contributors. The post What 900,000 Years of Snow Leopard Ancestry Tells Us About Their Ability to Adapt appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Using collar data, we’ve been searching for kills made by the two female snow leopards that gave birth this summer, F12 and F19. While doing this, we have noticed that they employed two very different parenting strategies. F12 appears to take more risks and is likely able to provide the cubs with more food, whereas F19 plays it safer, possibly providing less meat but potentially keeping her cubs more secure. F12 and her cubs left their den on July 26th, when the cubs were almost 2 months old. She had just killed a female ibex and moved the cubs to the kill. They had a nice, protected ledge just 50 m above the kill, where they could stay hidden. This was relatively close to our Base Camp – in fact, they could see the Base Camp from the ledge. F12’s two cubs at 28 days old. Since then, F12 has followed this strategy: hunt and then move the cubs to the feast. When the meat runs out, she relocates the cubs a few hundred meters to another site with lots of hiding places (typically tall vegetation and steep walls with crevices and caves), often close to a water hole. She stashes the cubs here when hunting. Once she has made a kill, she goes back to the cubs and travels to the kill site with them. This has continued since late July. We think this pattern will repeat until the end of October or November, when the cubs should be big enough to travel with her more extensively. F19 has a much more careful approach. She didn’t abandon her den until September 2nd.  At that time, the cubs were almost three months old. Prior to this, we have never seen a female use a den for such a long time. It’s probably a risk-averse approach to keep them in the same safe den, instead of traveling with them and stashing them in temporary sites. But at the same time, her cubs are restricted to a diet of milk, whereas F12’s cubs likely started eating meat a month earlier. When F19 finally left the den, she killed a big ibex male. She and the cubs fed on it for five to six days. Then she moved them to a ‘stash site’ high up on a mountain, where she kept them until September 19th (11 days total). During this time, she killed an ibex kid but didn’t bring the cubs to the kill. This pattern has repeated, where she keeps the cubs at a stash site for an extended period and only brings them to some of her kills. Perhaps they are still partly feeding on milk.  A rest site where F19 and her cubs spent about four and a half days. F12, now ten years old, has likely claimed the throne as the best-studied snow leopard female, a title passed down from Dagina, who inherited it from F12’s own mother, Anu. This is F12’s fourth litter; her prior three litters consisted of three, one and three cubs. We know that the single cub disappeared, but the other six cubs survived to at least 1.5 years of age. Once they disperse from their mother, it’s difficult to know their stories unless they stay in the area and show up on our camera traps or become part of our collaring program. One of her cubs, F16, is now collared and thriving. F12 and her previous litter of 3 cubs in 2023. Suffice it to say that F12 is an experienced mother. Logically, her strategy ought to be better as she can provide more food for the cubs, though perhaps she subjects them to greater risks. General view of the southeast part of Tost, where F19 and cubs spent quite a bit of time this past summer and fall F19 is only five years old. She has given birth before but has not successfully raised a litter. Perhaps losing her first litter made her extra cautious, or maybe that same strategy failed to provide enough food. We can’t know for sure. Whether this approach will succeed remains to be seen. What we can do is piece together her story from camera trap images and collar data, then apply those insights to conservation strategies that protect these cats, their habitat, and their prey. Beyond tracking these two mothers, we also collared a beautiful new male on our recent field trip. M25 is probably around five years old and appears to have claimed the territory in the northeast part of Tost around the crater. This area was previously held by Kurzawa, who controlled it since 2018, a remarkably long time for a wild snow leopard male. He was seen on camera in the crater area and more central parts of Tost in late fall of 2024, which suggests that M25 may have started to push him out of his area then.  Recently, we’ve had some rather bad weather with heavy rains that created a waterfall above our camp. It was beautiful, except that the water was flowing towards the camp. Flash floods destroyed many of our traps and completely altered the ravines, making it hard to predict where the cats will walk. We’ve also had some complications with a stone marten. I’d heard they can be troublemakers, climbing into cars and chewing cables, but I thought that was exaggerated. However, this guy has dug out our trap transmitters, pulling them hard enough to set off the alarm and then chewed off the cable to the antenna. Three times now we’ve been jolted awake, grabbed all our gear and scrambled off in a hurry, hoping to collar a snow leopard, only to find stone marten teeth marks. I used to really like martens. Now, I’m not so sure.  F19 recently received her Mongolian name, which is Khiimori.  It means Wind Spirit or Wind Horse. You can help snow leopard cubs in the wild by adopting your own plush cub. All adoptions fund our conservation programs. Photo credits: SLCF-Mongolia Acknowledgements: 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: Acton Family Giving, Bioparc Zoo de Doue la Fontaine, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park, John Ball Zoo, Kolmårdens Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo, National Geographic Society, 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. The post Two Mothers, Two Different Survival Strategies appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Qamar Gul, now the Center Coordinator for Snow Leopard Enterprises (SLE) in Kuju Valley, first approached the Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF) in 2012 with a vision: to create a platform for local women to participate in conservation through skill-based income opportunities. Inspired by the positive change she had observed since SLE began in her area in 2005, Qamar believed that empowering women would not only support households economically but also encourage environmental stewardship. Despite facing financial hardship and cultural restrictions, Qamar completed her matriculation at a boys’ school and pursued higher education as a private candidate, funding her studies by sewing clothes at home. Living in a joint family with aging parents, three brothers, their children and a dependent sister, she carried a heavy responsibility, but saw it as a challenge she was ready to lead through. Qamar’s initiative led to the formation of a group of 30 local women who signed a conservation agreement with SLF, producing handmade embroidered napkins in exchange for fair wages. This income, around Rs. 100 per napkin became a source of pride and independence for many women. The group now produces the highest number of napkins annually among SLE participants. Qamar also receives a small supervisory wage for monitoring production. With tears in her eyes, she shared, “From the income of SLE’s napkin production, I was able to support my parents and contribute to my sister’s wedding. Because of SLF, I became the right hand of my father in a time of great need.” Her journey didn’t stop there. Determined to build her skills further, Qamar enrolled in Government Technical College in Chitral to pursue advanced education in embroidery and handicrafts. She is now the master trainer for SLF, strengthening the skill center she helped build and ensuring long-term opportunities for more women in her community. “I want women in my village to have a platform where they can learn, contribute and earn. SLF gave us that chance, and I want to help expand it further.” Qamar’s story is a powerful example of how a single determined individual, when supported by the right platform, can drive social and environmental impact, one stitch at a time. When women earn through conservation, they come to see the snow leopard not as a threat, but as a vital part of the ecosystem they help protect. Snow Leopard Enterprises is an award-winning, conservation-focused handicrafts brand that helps create sustainable economic opportunities for women and families living in snow leopard habitat. This women-led initiative promotes the production and sale of handmade products to augment livelihoods. Participating communities are also actively involved in conservation actions to protect snow leopards. You can support Qamar and thousands of women across the snow leopard range with a purchase from our conservation shop.  The post Stitch by Stitch: How a Young Woman is Reshaping Conservation in Pakistan appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.