Tien Shan: Wolves…

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

Group 2 has settled in and is collecting good data. All but two camera traps have now been either serviced or collected, once again yielding snow leopard images.

The last two camera traps will require an overnight trip, but we have some severe weather warning for the next couple of days, so won’t be venturing deep into the mountains.

We have also set up two new camera traps at a new location, in this study site’s first “camera trap station” configuration. This is when two camera traps face a pinch point through which animals pass. The aim is to take pictures of animals – particularly snow leopards – from two sides simultaneously as this makes it easier to identify individuals through their unique coat spot patterns.

We have also found snow leopard tracks

and logged our first-ever direct sighing of a Mongolian wolf – carrying a small bird kill – by a group on cell survey.

All field data are up to date and the weather so far has been good, with clear warm days and no rain, though this is about to change. This group has so far surveyed 13 cells surveyed and conducted two interviews.

In other developments in Europe, the first batch of suspected snow leopard scat from group 1 has now been sent for DNA analysis to a specialist lab in Germany. We should have results within a few weeks.

Update from our Kyrgyzstan expedition to the Tien Shan mountains, volunteering in snow leopard conservation.