Month: July 2022

Update from our snow leopard volunteer project to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

It’s been a memorable two weeks. This has been the first Tien Shan snow leopard volunteer expedition for three years, we have a new scientist on the ground and various new equipment and systems, alongside the challenge of managing Covid risk on expedition.

The eleven snow leopard citizen scientists on this expedition can be proud of themselves as pioneers. The full team – the citizen scientists Jason, Jörg, Valerie, Anke, Coleen, Anne, Pierre, Alan, Nadine & Lydie, expedition leaders Roland and Malika, scientist Taalai, rangers Aman, Beka and Ayan, cook Gulia and placement Kubanychek – got on well from the start. The first two days of orientation and training were busy, but rewarding. After weeks of preparation, it was great to get started.

The snow leopard expeditioners were trained in everything needed for the success of the expedition, from off-road driving to the snow leopard research methods and expedition safety protocols. The new toilet and shower huts are a big improvement. The expedition office, in the back of the truck, worked well as a base for all the science kit and Gulia fed us all well from the start. The new solar power system, to charge all the gadgets and yurt lights was a disappointment for the first few days until Jason (citizen scientist and also an engineer) and Roland spotted and – with a little ingenuity – fixed a loose connection. We now have power as expected. Our new GPS units have taken a lot of effort to set up, but now we have all learnt their eccentricities, they are a vital tool to use for navigation, to mark the locations and camera traps and important research finds, and for satellite communication.

Within a few days we hit a rhythm and stride. One aim of the expedition, amongst others, is to find evidence of snow leopards or their prey over a vast area centred on the Karakol valley. We have a relatively simple and robust methodology to do this – spending each day exploring hidden side valleys, marking the location of any significant finds – sightings, footprints or any other evidence of key species. A lot of time is spent sitting in this beautiful mountain landscape, peering through binoculars. We also deploy camera traps in strategic positions high in the mountains. And we keep a tally of any bird species we can identify. Trekking up these valleys, with river crossings, rocky terrain and steep ground is hard work, especially since there are no well-trodden paths, signposts, bridges or any other mod cons in these rugged and remote mountains. But our efforts have been rewarded with several sightings of ibex, a key prey species for snow leopards, as well as many marmots, eagles and vultures. A highlight was discovering on one of camera traps – amongst dozens of photos of marmots, foxes, stoats (and a few mystery animals) – recorded three photos of a snow leopard walking down a snowy ridge in late last and then ibex in the same spot early this year. The camera trap was placed there by our community camera trapping group and retrieved by group 1 a few days ago.

An unwanted twist to our snow leopard expedition story were two Covid infections early in the expedition, despite all our precautions, and then two more. Our Covid protocol was implemented with the first case and I am happy to report that we managed to stop the virus spreading further.

Towards the end of the expedition, a few hardy expeditioners chose to hike for six hours up to a spot high above base camp and spend a night under the stars, to allow the next day to be spent exploring a remote ridge with a lot of signs of ibex – a great location to place camera traps for both the ibex and, hopefully, any snow leopards that might be stalking them.

Over the past two weeks we have surveyed 100 ‘cells’ on our target map – representing 400 square kilometres of mountain terrain – we have had several sightings of ibex, recorded evidence of many key species and captured images of snow leopards on camera traps – all in all a great success. The team 1 now retires tired, but happy. From Monday, team 2 has big boots to fill and we look forward to exploring the Karakol Valley and add to our research findings. with a fresh team of citizen scientists

Continue reading “Tien Shan: Group 1 summary”

Update from our snow leopard volunteer project to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

The first group of snow leopard volunteer citizen scientists were there, all Covid-free on Monday. The drive to base was over a rough pass, which is almost free of snow now and just about passable for 4×4 cars.

At base, it rained and was cold. This did not change for the next two days of training, so it was tough going. When the rain stopped for a while, we put up the third yurt and put a stove in it. This helped.

With training (science, equipment, offroad driving, data collection etc.) complete, we went for a first survey as one group on Thursday. Today, Friday, the sun has come out and we are surveying in several groups for the first time.

Everyone’s in good spirits, healthy (except for a bothersome contact lens courtesy of which we can send this short diary entry) and having fun. More news when we get to a signal next. This might not be until changeover on 24/25 July, so please be patient.

Continue reading “Tien Shan: Training in the rain and cold”

Update from our snow leopard volunteer project to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Preparations begin long before our snow leopard citizen scientists start their journeys. This expedition especially involves A LOT of preparation. Our partners in Kyrgyzstan have been getting things ready and I, Roland, have now joined them in Bishkek for the last week’s push before the expedition starts.

Bishkek is located in one of the few parts of Kyrgyzstan that is not mountains and the weather here is hot hot hot and hazy. We will be heading up into the mountains in a few days to set up base camp and recce our expedition area, which will be much cooler – we may even have snow at base camp on some nights.

In the meantime, there is shopping to be done, kit to check and 4×4 vehicles to prepare. And meetings to be held too. Our base in Bishkek is the headquarters of NABU Kyrgyzstan, our main partner here, and this is where I have been spending my time when not shopping. I have been joined by Amadeus, a veteran of the Tien Shan expeditions (and former placement) and Taalai who is our new scientist directing the snow leopard research this year. I have also met Gulia, our base camp cook and Aman, our chief ranger, as well as Jirgal, Jengish, Ayan and Bek, the NABU rangers from the Grupa Barz (the NABU ranger group tasked with protecting snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan), who will be joining our groups on a rota system.

I am happy to say we are on target with preparations. Most of the shopping is now done and we have been through most of the kit – everything from tents, cooking stuff and fuel to a full mobile office and various gadgets for communication, navigation and safety. New this year are wooden huts for the toilet and shower (the tents used in previous years were not up to the job) and a set of GPS devices that give us digital mapping (for general navigation), a tool for research and a means of communication in an emergency in a region with no phone signal. We have also invested in a solar power system so that we can charge all the gadgetry properly. Tomorrow we will be joined by Malika, also a veteran of many a Tien Shan expedition and our expedition leader for the first group starting next Monday. But first, there is base camp to set up. I for one can’t wait to get up into those mountains.

We’ll send another diary entry once we are back in Bishkek. Happy packing, group 1!

P.S. Roland now has a local SIM card and his number is +996 9972 07208 . This will only work when he’s in Bishkek though, so for example for group pick-up and changeover, but not when he’s in the mountains, where there is no mobile phone signal.

Continue reading “Tien Shan: One week to go”

Update from our snow leopard volunteer project to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Base camp is now ready for the first group of snow leopard volunteer citizen scientists arriving on Monday. After a week of preparations in Bishkek, the team were ready to head up to our base camp location on Thursday first thing. The Ala-Too mountain range towers over Bishkek, offering an enticing view of jagged snowy peaks, but also a formidable obstacle to anyone wanting to travel to the Karakol valley on the other side – which is where our expedition base sits. Our usual route is over the infamous Camel Pass and through a 2 km tunnel drilled through the very top of this pass. But an accident in the tunnel earlier in the week meant the tunnel was out of action for a few days. Option 2 involves taking a different route from Bishkek and heading up the Karakol Pass – no tunnel on this route but a very steep road winding up the mountain side, almost certainly still snow-bound and too high a risk for our truck. In true expedition style, we came up with a plan C, a third route – taking an especially long and circuitous route involving many kilometres of driving on dirt tracks following all points of the compass. But it would get us to base camp without substantial obstacles. And so our fleet of vehicles set off with confidence, a truck and two 4x4s, one with a trailer. We spent the day following dusty roads winding down steep valleys hugging wild rivers, over sparse sheep-clad hills and always surrounded by huge rocky mountains any one if which could be home to snow leopards.

Finally, after a day and a half of driving, home for the next few weeks came into view. The spot sits in a long, wide valley of endless pastures overlooked by snow-capped peaks. The pastures are the summer home for many herders alongside the few permanent residents. We passed many yurts and herds of sheep, cattle and horses on our long journey up the dirt track. The air is clear and cool, a relief compared with Bishkek. Base camp is right next to the river and partly hidden from the main track.

The team are well practiced at setting up base and it was not long before our yurts, tents and (new for 2022) shower and toilet huts were up. Gulia cooked up our supper and we declared base camp open and ready for the first snow leopard expedition group starting on Monday. See you in Bishkek!

Continue reading “Tien Shan: Base camp awaits”

Update from our snow leopard volunteer project to the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Preparations begin long before our snow leopard citizen scientists start their journeys. This expedition especially involves A LOT of preparation. Our partners in Kyrgyzstan have been getting things ready and I, Roland, have now joined them in Bishkek for the last week’s push before the expedition starts.

Bishkek is located in one of the few parts of Kyrgyzstan that is not mountains and the weather here is hot hot hot and hazy. We will be heading up into the mountains in a few days to set up base camp and recce our expedition area, which will be much cooler – we may even have snow at base camp on some nights.

In the meantime, there is shopping to be done, kit to check and 4×4 vehicles to prepare. And meetings to be held too. Our base in Bishkek is the headquarters of NABU Kyrgyzstan, our main partner here, and this is where I have been spending my time when not shopping. I have been joined by Amadeus, a veteran of the Tien Shan expeditions (and former placement) and Taalai who is our new scientist directing the snow leopard research this year. I have also met Gulia, our base camp cook and Aman, our chief ranger, as well as Jirgal, Jengish, Ayan and Bek, the NABU rangers from the Grupa Barz (the NABU ranger group tasked with protecting snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan), who will be joining our groups on a rota system.

I am happy to say we are on target with preparations. Most of the shopping is now done and we have been through most of the kit – everything from tents, cooking stuff and fuel to a full mobile office and various gadgets for communication, navigation and safety. New this year are wooden huts for the toilet and shower (the tents used in previous years were not up to the job) and a set of GPS devices that give us digital mapping (for general navigation), a tool for research and a means of communication in an emergency in a region with no phone signal. We have also invested in a solar power system so that we can charge all the gadgetry properly. Tomorrow we will be joined by Malika, also a veteran of many a Tien Shan expedition and our expedition leader for the first group starting next Monday. But first, there is base camp to set up. I for one can’t wait to get up into those mountains.

We’ll send another diary entry once we are back in Bishkek. Happy packing, group 1!

Continue reading “Tien Shan: One week to go”