Category: Expedition Blogs

Update from our snow leopard volunteer expedition

Group 2 has put in a big effort all round. The weather has settled, so we returned to Archali for further surveys. Emil and Kate took the pass on foot, overnighting at 3748 metres. The rest of us, five expeditioners in total, drove around into Archali to meet them.

We have now surveyed extensively in two of the three valleys with some new camera traps in place. Finishing the second snow leopard volunteer expedition week, we alternate big days with easier ones consisting of local interviews. These gather important local insights into raising livestock and the surrounding wildlife. Reports of face to face snow leopard encounters continue, but no hard proof yet.

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Update from our snow leopard conservation expedition

It’s Sunday, midway through group 2. As I write this on our rest day, some of the team are catching up on laundry, some are out with our camp manager in search of petroglyphs, and our scientist is in the zone collating the data we’ve gathered so far. We deserve the break, after some bad weather over the last week.

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Update from our snow leopard volunteering Kyrgyzstan

Our second group of team members has settled into base camp, marking the successful completion of our first full day in the high mountains of the Tien Shan. The morning began with an introductory lecture led by expedition scientist Emil, setting the stage for the conservation work ahead. Following the briefing, team members plunged straight into practical preparation, undergoing comprehensive equipment checks and mastering essential navigation skills required for traversing rugged terrain safely.

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Update from our snow leopard research in the Tien Shan mountains

Group 1 is done, with excellent results, thank you! We thought 2025 would be hard to beat, but we have made a good start thanks to the efforts of our first snow leopard research group.

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Update from our snow leopard project to the Tien Shan mountains

It’s been a whirlwind of activities over the last four days on our snow leopard project: Interviews with locals, an overnight survey in neighbouring Archali valley, as well as our usual cell surveys. And, yes, more snow leopard records.

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Update from our snow leopard volunteering to the Tien Shan mountains

We are half-way through group 1 and have more successes to report. One of the camera traps yielded more snow leopard photos (see sample above). From other camera traps, SD cards were removed, presumably by poachers who do not exactly want to be found out.

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Update from our snow leopard project to the Tien Shan mountains

The ghost of the mountain has been kind to us. 2025 was a great season and this 2026 snow leopard project has just got off to a flying start. Two of the first four high altitude camera traps we checked yesterday have revealed snow leopards!

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Update from our snow leopard volunteer expedition to the Tien Shan mountains

We have arrived and spent the last two days training our snow leopard volunteers from six countries. Training involves everything from safety in the mountains, looking after the expedition 4x4s and how to drive them off road, camp tasks and etiquette, and of course all the science: What to look out for, how to collect data, how to set camera traps. And the equipment: Compass, map, GPS, radio, camera traps etc. etc.

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