Once more a team stayed out in the field for a night. This time Aman, Ulan, Volodya, Liss, Martin H. and James made it further to the east to explore a big valley. Our maps indicated an accession via a pass to a remote area higher up. They found a huge barren area, which Liss described as ‘Mars’-like. Despite this there was good evidence of ibex and even argali. The next slot has to work out where to place camera traps as there is an old pass that leads into another big valley further north. We don’t know yet if this pass is still being used to move livestock between the two valleys.
Furthermore we installed two more camera traps way up in a valley next to our base camp. All in all there are now 14 cameras placed in the field. It will be a challenge for the next slots to go back to these places to check each of them. But it will be also an exiting task.
Now, this is my last entry as I am handing over to Paul who will lead slots 4 and 5. I would like to thank everybody who supported our common idea of wildlife conservation and helped me personally in many ways to make it fly. It’s you who made my eight weeks in the field a memorable time indeed. Thank you.
I wish Paul and the next two slots a successful (snowy is still the only visible snow leopard in the area) and enjoyable time.
Ronald
From our snow leopard volunteering expedition in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan
Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet 