Snow Leopard Conservation in Mongolia

Snow Leopard Conservancy - Conservation Program

Snow Leopard Conservation in Mongolia

Mongolia is one of the most important range countries of the Snow Leopard, with some 800-1,000 cats. Along with Irbis Mongolia and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Snow Leopard Conservancy conducted a collaborative camera-trapping study of snow leopards in the South Gobi Desert. The Conservancy provided training in setup and operation of the cameras in May 2007, and three camera trap surveys were conducted during the summer. The team was rewarded with over 100 images, including a female with 3 cubs.

Information obtained during the camera-trapping survey indicates the urgency of identifying and protecting critical snow leopard corridors and habitat “hotspots.” The next collaboration involves a pilot study setting up a long-term project at tracking dispersing snow leopards and examining their ecology in two of Mongolia’s most important protected areas. The first site is located in western Mongolia’s Altai Mountains that extend into Russia, the second is in the Gobi Desert near the Chinese border (where we photographed a female cat with 3 cubs). Capacity-building will be a key project activity, with training in all aspects of snow leopard surveying, monitoring and conservation in order to lay the foundation for long-term conservation of snow leopards in Mongolia.

Camera-trap photo from Mongolia showing a mother snow leopard and
three cubs

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