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The weather has been kind to group 2 – we’ve had sunny days all week.
We have now retrieved all but two camera traps from last year and they have yielded lots of prey species and another wolf, but no more snow leopard photos.
Camera trap in place
We have also found an argali skull and horns, so these iconic and elusive mountain sheep are around, but rarely seen.
Argali
We have also conducted eight more herder interviews.
Herder interview
We have an overnight mini-expedition with an advance base camp planned for the second half of this group. This will take us north via a 4000 m pass to survey more cells and place camera traps.
Advanced base camp
Also planned is a community information evening, during which we will explain who we are, what we do and ask how the community can and wants to be involved and benefit financially from our work, for example by supplying us with produce such as milk and bread or by helping with supply runs or producing felt gifts (felting is a great tradition and skill here).
Group 2 have arrived and are on their way to base camp.
With this group, we will search for new positions for the camera traps we have retrieved in group 1 (or putting cameras back in successful positions), retrieve camera traps still out in the field, survey more cells, conduct more herder interviews farther afield and hold a community information event at our base camp.
As always, updates from the field will be scant with no up-to-date pictures until changeover. Wish us luck for this group.
Group 1 started two weeks ago with a weather forecast of inescapable perma-drizzle, but the reality has been much kinder. There were of course the occasional rain/snow/hail showers, but the conditions have been favourable for the most part.
A main task for this group has been to collect camera traps left by the 2023 expedition on remote ridges and other far-flung places. To get to them, we have been traversing mountainsides and ridges where few have ever set foot โ with the exception of previous expeditioners, adventurous local herders and Soviet cartographers perhaps.
The results have been mixed, with one camera trap having 6000 images of nothing but snow. However, others have been much more fruitful. We have captured snow leopard on two traps and a solitary wolf. We also have pictures of ibex, badger, fox, weasel, rabbit, mouse and snowcock. The search for argali continues. The team have also been busy collecting data and surveying cells throughout the Burkhan and surrounding valleys with 40 cells already surveyed.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday the group split into two halves for an overnight mini-expedition away from base camp with one half driving into the valley to the north to gather information from the local herders and survey cells and the other half venturing to a remote pass to spend the night and survey cells in the vicinity. Both groups survived the experience and were rewarded with a clear night sky full of stars with the Milky Way clearly visible. The car group was forced by strong winds to retreat to the car for a โcosyโ night’s sleep. The group that slept at the mountain pass were able to find good evidence of key snow leopard prey despite the extensive presence of livestock in the area (and some rather intimidating yaks). Large groups of ibex were spotted and there were reports of a live wolf sighting although there are reservations around this due to the consumption of Kumis (fermented and alcoholic mare’s milk) on previous days.
I hope that group 2 are now prepared for the rugged Kyrgyz landscapes and excited to get started. We have found hiking poles to be invaluable as well as having the Kyrgyz dictionary downloaded for offline use on Google Translate for communication with locals.
We’re more than half-way through group 1 and the team has proved itself keen and capable.
So far, we have retrieved two camera traps from the mountains. The batteries of one of them only lasted for a few weeks after the last expedition left it. The other performed well with the batteries lasting almost until our return and giving us a picture of a snow leopard and a wolf. This is good news already.
Some of the other camera traps have proved elusive to find – or they have been stolen. Herders feel watched and threatened by them, poachers even more so, and a camera trap spotted by a poacher is invariably a camera trap lost. These are the realities of life in a far-flung corner of the world, well away from digital overload or any kind of policing.
On the brighter side, group 1 has already covered 27 (!) survey cells and conducted three interviews. This is a great effort, well done!
Very good news from the field. We received this message from the field today: “Hi, all well here. We retrieved camera traps today and have sightings of wolf and snow leopard. “
Screenshot
This is from camera traps left in the mountains by the expedition last year, some now retrieved by group 1. Well done!
We can’t show you the pictures, as we only have text connectivity via satellite with the expedition, but here’s one from an earlier expedition.
We’ll have to wait for the real thing until group 1/2 changeover in 10 days.
There is zero connectivity at base camp and we will enjoy the digital detox. But this also means that I will only send one, perhaps two, short text-only updates per group via satellite. So please be patient, assume that no news is good news and wish us luck for our endeavours.
We’re as ready as we can be. We have chosen a site for base camp, pitched two yurts (third one is a group 1 job), established the science, kitchen, showers, toilets etc and said hello to the neighbours. All it now needs is you.
Come prepared for all weathers. We had 2C and a snow and ice dusting at base a couple of days ago and the weather forecast for the next few days isn’t pretty.
Snow and ice dusting at baseHome, sweet home
On the brighter side, lovers of Edelweiss will be pleased to hear that it is everywhere, including base, and that our study site is as beautiful and remote as ever.
Edelweiss
The drive there is long, but worth it in the end, so without any further ado, see you tomorrow, group 1. Your main task will be to get the camera traps back from where we left them a year ago. Fingers crossed they are still there, high up in the mountains, and have captured something…
We’re in a muggy and rainy Bishkek. In fact, there’s been lots of rain and snow in the last few months. We’ll have to see for ourselves what this means in terms of access to our study site and where we’ll place base camp. More news on this at the end of the week.
For now, it’s the usual madness of getting equipment and paperwork ready, shopping, meetings, ticking boxes. Scientist Emil is here to help, Lukas also, former staff member and Bishkek resident Amadeus and NABU staff too.
From left: expedition leader Johnny, scientist Emil and helper Lukas.
We’re doing our thing and I hope you are too. I’ll be back with updates from the field on Saturday or Sunday evening, when we return to Bishkek.
Biosphere Expeditions, working in collaboration with Bjรถrn & Vildmark (bear & wilderness), has completed its fourth citizen science research expedition in Dalarna province, Sweden, gathering field data on brown bears (Ursus arctos), contributing to the conservation of this iconic Scandinavian mammal.
The expedition involves citizen scientists staying at a base camp and, after receiving relevant training, collecting data under the direction of the expedition scientist, Dr Andrea Friebe.
The data collected is used by the trans-national Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project (SBBRP). Dr Friebe has worked in the SBBRP since 1998 and wrote her master thesis and dissertation about brown bear hibernation and ecology in Sweden. In 2001 she founded the company Bjรถrn & Vildmark, as an interface between bear research and information for the public and for managers.
The main focus of the Biosphere Expeditions brown bear research expeditions is locating and surveying winter dens used by bears that have previously been fitted with tracking devices. Once the bears have left in spring, each winter den is then carefully measured by the citizen scientists and a wide range of data are collected relating to the type of den, the surrounding habitat and any evidence of cubs and/or bear scats at the den site.
The expedition team also visits sites where bears had recently spent a significant amount of time, indicating a โday-bedโ, or a potential kill or scavenging site. These sites also provide a high chance of finding bear scats. Samples of these scats are collected and later analysed to reveal bear diet as well as helping to identify the presence of cubs accompanying female bears.
The data gathered by the expeditions is used by the SBBRP as part of their long-term research programme following the lives of specific bears from birth to death, to gain insights into bear diet, weight development, patterns of movement, colonisation of new areas, choice of den, social behaviour, mortality and reproduction. Inter-species interaction with moose and domestic livestock have also been investigated, as well as the sensitivity of bears to human disturbance and human-bear conflict.
The purpose of this all this is to provide managers in Norway and Sweden with solid, fact-based knowledge to meet present and future challenges by managing the population of brown bears, which is both an important hunted species and a source of conflict, and whose management has been changing rapidly in recent years.
The 2024 expedition ran from 26 May to 4 June 2024, involving two days of practical training followed by seven days of research in the field carried out by nine citizen scientists from Germany, Spain, Poland, the UK and US. The expedition succeeded in locating and visiting 60 sites, including surveying 27 winter dens and collecting 56 samples of bear scats, three of which were โfirst scats of the seasonโ (especially valuable samples that can reveal a bearโs diet before and during hibernation). Other evidence of bear presence and behaviour recorded by the expedition included bear โday bedsโ, claw scratches on trees, footprints and the remains of prey carcasses, notably moose. The team also used directional radio antennae to reveal the live location of some bears.
โThe team did really well this year, working hard in unusually challenging conditions. They also had to deal with some tough hiking in rough wild terrain to find the dens. They all deserve a good rest following the expeditionโ, says expedition leader Roland Arniston with a wry smile.
Expedition scientist Dr Andrea Friebe was very pleased with the data collected. โI really appreciate the effort that the citizen scientists put into collect the data. I wouldnโt be able to obtain this long-term dataset on brown bears without them. Initial results show a changing pattern of the types of winter dens used by bears, including a trend of increasing use of basket dens by female bears, a type of den more usually favoured by large male bears.โ
Andrea will carry out further analysis of the data collected on the expedition, to reveal more detailed results about bear dens, diet and demographics. An expedition report with all analyses and details will be published in due course
Biosphere Expeditions will to return to Sweden in 2025 to continue this valuable contribution to brown bear research and conservation in Scandinavia.
Citizen scientist testimonials:
โThe setting of base was beautiful, basic and comfortable. Andrea was amazing to work with. Loved the presentations. The food was EXCELLENT.โ Zoe G., UK.
โI enjoyed a really great experience, beautiful landscape, meeting very kind and interesting people. I am very happy that I got the chance to come here.โ Almut D., Germany.
โThe food that Lousie cooked was VERY good. Andreaโs enthusiasm and expertise are an inspiration. I thought she was amazing and will follow her research. I loved the technical work and strengthening my technical skills.โ Kari V., USA.
โThe local researcher is very excited about her work and her enthusiasm is contagious. The research felt worthwhile and finding bear dens was very satisfying. I enjoyed the full days.โ Maya G., Poland.
โI appreciated the opportunity to work closely with the project scientist and gain more knowledge of bear ecology and how they interact with the human populationโ Thomas K., USA.
Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet 