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Citizen Science Breakthrough: Biosphere Expeditions Establishes Critical Snow Leopard Research Baseline in the Tien Shan Mountains

Media release – 30 June 2026

Snow leopard looking over a mountain landscape
Remarkable camera trap photo taken the Biosphere Expeditions snow leopard research project

An international team of citizen scientists and professional researchers has successfully completed a landmark snow leopard research and biodiversity survey in the Teskey Ala-Too range of the Tien Shan mountains, Kyrgyzstan.

Organised by the award-winning non-profit organisation Biosphere Expeditions, the two-month expedition in July/August 2025 delivered a vital baseline report for snow leopard Panthera uncia density, habitat connectivity and spatial distribution in the region.

Working at elevations ranging from 2,797 to 4,419 meters, a team of 36 citizen scientists investigated a 392-square-kilometer study area. It confirmed the year-round residency of at least five distinct snow leopard individuals across the survey grid. This major breakthrough was achieved through a combination of camera trapping and DNA analysis of collected scats

The advance party of the follow-up expedition is heading into the field tomorrow (see expedition diary).

Read also: One of the world’s longest-running snow leopard research projects – thanks to citizen scientists

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Tien Shan snow leopard expedition 2026: Shopping madness

Update from our snow leopard volunteering expedition to the Tien Shan mountains

Man shopping in a bazaar
Emil at the bazaar

The journey has officially begun! I touched down in Central Asia a couple of days ago for our latest research season. If you are looking into the realities of snow leopard volunteering, let me tell you: The expedition starts long before you set foot in the mountains.

My transit through Istanbul provided a swift reminder of the logistics involved in remote conservation work. Due to a self-transfer flight booking, I had to manually retrieve and recheck my bags. Take it from me: avoid self-transfers at all costs when travelling for fieldwork, especially when you are hauling 30 kg of heavy expedition kit and scientific equipment!

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Germany wolf expedition 2026: Preparing to track old grey

Update from our wolf expedition to Germany

A wolf trots through the mud
A wolf in Lower Saxony as captured by Theo Grüntjen

Hello Germany expeditioners! This is a short diary entry from your expedition leader, Malika, to let you know that final preparations for our wolf conservation expedition in Germany are officially underway. We are almost fully set for this year’s wolf monitoring expedition, and the excitement is definitely building.

Lotte, our dedicated expedition scientist, and I will be arriving at our base camp at Naturcampus Bockum a couple of days ahead of you to get everything organised, set up the equipment and ensure a smooth start to our research.

A woman smiling into the camera
Expedition scientist Lotte
A woman smiling into the camera
Expedition leader Malika

Read also: Malika’s story with Biosphere Expeditions

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Tien Shan snow leopard expedition 2026: Preparing to track the mountain ghost

Update from our snow leopard conservation expedition to the Tien Shan mountains

A snow leopard wistfully looking over his mountain domain
A snow leopard wistfully looking over his mountain domain – camera trap picture retrieved from the 2025 expedition

Our behind-the-scenes preparation for this year’s Kyrgyzstan snow leopard conservation expedition has been going for months. It now enters the final phase. As our citizen scientists finalise checklists and pack their gear, so are we.

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Snow Leopard Volunteering in Kyrgyzstan: The expedition leader view and story

Darran Keogh came to Biosphere Expeditions as an expedition leader without a scientific background and left with a drive to pursue conservation through further education — a transformation that reflects the impact these expeditions can have, even for staff members.

Based in Ireland, Darran’s main job is ‘delivering and leading courses in the mountains.’ However, when he came across Biosphere Expeditions and applied for an expedition leader position, he was looking for added value; an opportunity to apply his existing skills in a different context – snow leopard volunteering seemed a good one.

Darran mountaineering and snow leopard volunteering in Tien Shan
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Citizen Scientists Track Apex Predator: Multi-year wildlife study in Sweden yields record data amid intensifying pressure on brown bears

Media release – 16 June 2026

A brown bear in the woods in Sweden (c) Björn & Vildmark

Non-profit wildlife conservation organisation Biosphere Expeditions has successfully concluded its 2026 brown bear research field season in the forests of Dalarna County, Sweden.

Working alongside bear scientist Dr. Andrea Friebe of the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project, an international team of volunteer citizen scientists generated critical telemetry, behavioural and dietary data tracking the region’s Scandinavian brown bear (Ursus arctos) population.

The 2026 expedition operated against a backdrop of increasing ecological tension, following a historic and highly controversial large-scale government cull during the previous hunting season. Despite a reduced regional bear density, the 2026 team completed an unprecedented sweeping survey of the study site, documenting a record-breaking 46 winter dens and successfully recovering months of localised data from deep-winter temperature loggers and remote camera traps.

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What Volunteering With Brown Bears in Sweden Is Really Like

A female volunteer laughing while lying in a bear den in Sweden

Most people imagine wildlife conservation as something done by scientists in remote places far from everyday life. But on Biosphere Expeditions’ Sweden bear project, people from all walks of life get the chance to step into that world themselves.

Biosphere Expeditions’ brown bear project in Sweden is not a safari-style wildlife experience where animals appear on cue. It’s real field research in a remote part of central Sweden, where volunteers assist scientists with long-term bear monitoring and ecological research.

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Sweden expedition 2026: Wrap-up

Update from our brown bear conservation expedition in Dalarna, Sweden

A group of people and a Biosphere Expeditions flag
The 2026 Sweden bear expedition team

The wrap-up is here.

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Sweden expedition 2026: Hunting bears

Update from our brown bear conservation expedition in Dalarna, Sweden 

A group of people and a Biosphere Expeditions flag
The 2026 Sweden bear expedition team

This outstanding team managed to check and record all the bear dens that Andrea wanted us to cover. That’s a first in all our years in Sweden and Andrea was very pleased on our last night together. Well done everyone!

But the last few days weren’t just about dens. They were also about hunting bears.

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Sweden expedition 2026: Tree trunks and quaking bogs

Update from our brown bear conservation expedition in Dalarna, Sweden 

A hand pointing into a cavity made by rocks and used as a den by bears
A rock den

Our efficiency drive continues and we have only six bear dens left to do in our study site. There are fewer dens this year, because there was a big cull last year, so fewer bears built dens in the 2025/2026 season.

But our scientist Andrea has plenty of work for us, so we are also retrieving camera traps and temperature loggers from the field for her. The camera traps take pictures of animals and the temperature loggers are left in the dens over the winter to record temperatures inside. Once retrieved, Andrea can download months worth of data from them.

A hand holding a white bullet-shaped and sized temperature logger
A temperature logger, freshly retrieved from a bear den
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