Media release – 30 June 2026
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
Healthy snow leopard habitat
The survey also mapped a functional, multi-tiered trophic web essential for supporting these apex predators. Prey species documented included grey marmot and Siberian ibex, amongst others.
Notably, the expedition also confirmed the presence of the highly elusive Pallas’s cat (manul), signalling an area of exceptional habitat quality.
Human-made threats
However, the report highlights severe anthropogenic threats threatening to fracture these critical alpine corridors. The transboundary argali wild sheep remains critically precarious, while direct evidence of illegal hunting targeting both ibex and argali was also uncovered.
Interviews with 17 local shepherd families further revealed that severe overgrazing by thousands-strong sheep herds and the rapid spread of the invasive shrub Caragana frutex are actively degrading vital foraging grounds.
Significant Snow Leopard Habitat
“Our citizen scientists have proven that this sector of the Tien Shan mountains is a significant snow leopard habitat that could easily develop into a regional stronghold”, said Dr. Matthias Hammer, Founder and Executive Director of Biosphere Expeditions.
“However, as a data-collection NGO, our role is to provide the scientific blueprint and clear conservation recommendations. We have handed this evidence over to local rangers and regional authorities; the responsibility now lies with permanent national bodies to enforce strict anti-poaching measures and implement community-managed grazing plans before these critical corridors are permanently fractured.”
Read also: Wrap-up of the 2025 expedition
A Legacy of Global Conservation Achievements
The success in Kyrgyzstan marks the latest milestone in Biosphere Expeditions’ 25-year legacy of global citizen science achievements, which are detailed extensively at http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/achievements.
Operating on the principle that successful conservation relies on the collective effort of ordinary individuals, Biosphere Expeditions has directly influenced species protection plans and helped create or co-manage protected areas across four continents. Key global achievements include:
Altai Mountains (Russia): Pioneering a snow leopard research project from 2003 to 2011, which successfully converted local poachers into conservationists and directly led to the establishment of Saylyugemsky National Park.
Oman: Gathering five years of marine data that prompted a ministerial decree banning fishing in two secluded bays of the Musandam peninsula, declaring them Marine Protected Areas, and founding the country’s first reef protection NGO.
The Maldives: Conducting a decade of coral reef surveys at Rasdhoo Madivaru, leading Maldivian authorities officially to declare the site a Marine Protected Area.
Costa Rica: Implementing beach patrol programmes during rampant turtle poaching seasons, successfully saving an average of 75 percent of sea turtle nests across four vulnerable species.
Europe: Providing accurate predator population data in Poland’s Bieszczady mountains to save 50 wolves from being culled, alongside crucial ongoing wolf-monitoring initiatives in Germany.
Capacity-Building: Hosting over 100 local scholarship recipients through their global placement programme since 2012, effectively empowering communities to lead their own local conservation NGOs and transition into sustainable environmental careers.
2026 Snow Leopard Research Expedition begins today
Looking forward to the next field season in the Tien Shan mountains, beginning today, Biosphere Expeditions will systematically extend its surveys further, and upgrade camera trap stations to dual-side photography setups to refine individual identification and continue to collaborate with regional stakeholders to catalyse formal conservation action.
Read also: Diary of the 2026 expedition
NOTES TO EDITORS
Media contact: Dr. Matthias Hammer, m.hammer@biosphere-expeditions.org
The Tien Shan snow leopard research expeditions runs 6 July – 15 August 2027. Further information on the Biosphere Expeditions website.
Biosphere Expeditions is a wildlife conservation non-profit first and foremost, driven by science and citizen scientists. Our planet is in crisis, with nature under attack like never before. We believe everyone has the power to change this. Mindful of nature, we empower people through citizen science and hands-on wildlife conservation. We are a non-profit, visionary, award-winning and ethical conservation organisation. We are a member of the IUCN, the UN’s Environment Programme and the European Citizen Science Association. Working hand-in-hand with local biologists and communities since 1999, we champion change and protect nature. And we succeed – the creation of protected areas on four continents is just one example of our many achievements.
Citizen science is defined as “public participation in scientific research”. It is an important vehicle for democratising science and promoting the goal of universal and equitable access to scientific data and information. In addition, data generated by citizen science groups have become an increasingly important source for scientists, applied users and those pursuing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In nature conservation in particular, international citizen science has become increasingly important as a duel stream of data and funding.
RESOURCES
HD pictures of the expedition.
Online press pack with image library, press releases & news, press trip information, etc.
Full list of forthcoming expeditions (press trip offers available 4-8 weeks in advance).
Annual Biosphere Expeditions Magazines with stories from the field, achievements, etc.