Protecting Snow Leopards

As summer settles across the vast, rugged landscapes of Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, we’re excited to share the latest news from the field with you, updates that wouldn’t be possible without your support.

This May, our project partners successfully collared a young female snow leopard in the Tost Mountains. Estimated to be around two years old, she was given the name Gunj, meaning Princess in Mongolian, by long-time conservationist Bayara. The moment was particularly moving for her, it was the very first time she’d seen a snow leopard in the wild since beginning her work to protect them back in 1998.

Gunj was fitted with a GPS collar that will allow our partners to track her movements and learn more about how young leopards disperse and settle into new territories. She was seen in the same area as her sister, Oluula, who was found earlier this spring.

After being collared, Gunj crossed 40 kilometres of open steppe to reach the Nemegt Mountains, a rare and ambitious journey that provides a valuable glimpse into how these elusive cats use the broader landscape.

With three snow leopards successfully collared this spring, including Oluula and Gunj, our partners are now watching their movements closely via GPS. Early signs are encouraging: all three have made successful kills and are moving normally, indicating that the collars have not impacted their ability to hunt or behave naturally.

These insights are only possible thanks to GPS tracking. Each collar helps to uncover the hidden lives of snow leopards, how far they roam, where they hunt, and how territories shift over time. This knowledge is so important to building better protection strategies.

To better understand snow leopard prey dynamics, our partners this spring have successfully collared a female ibex, affectionately named Mama Mia. Throughout the collaring process, she remained calm and healthy. She is currently raising a young kid and will provide important data on how ibex move, raise their young, and avoid predators like wolves, foxes, and, of course, snow leopards.

Every success that our partners have seen this spring and summer is a testament to the enduring connections between people, wildlife, and the wild places they call home. With your support, we are not only learning more about snow leopards but also creating real, lasting pathways for coexistence.

Thank you for standing with us, and with snow leopards, this summer and beyond.