Hello everyone, this is the first diary entry for this year’s snow leopard conservation expedition to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan. My name ist Malika and I will be the leader for the first three groups starting on 8 June.
Over the last few days I’ve been busy with preparing paperwork, data sheets, equipment and finally making it all fit into three huge bags now making their way to Bishkek. I’m at Frankfurt airport as I write this, about to board a plane heading east towards Instanbul before catching a connecting flight to Bishkek.
Our partners on the ground at the Bishkek NABU office are ready to help me set the scene once I arrive. Quite some more shopping and preparation needs to be done before the first group of citizen scientists arrives and we are all looking forward to it. We will be working out a day-to-day plan within the next few days (which will be attached to one of the next diary entries for your preparation, along with my local phone number once I have verified the SIM still works). Dr. Volodya Tytar, the scientist on this expedition will be joining us on the weekend. Together with him and the NABU Grupa Bars (snow leopard patrol), I will be looking for this year’s base camp sites
That’s it for now. I’ll be in touch again from Bishkek with more details soon.
Malika Fettak
Expedition leader
From our snow leopard volunteering expedition in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan
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