09 Jan The land of the Snow Leopard

Arguably the most intriguing cat of them all, the snow leopard brings enchantment, grace and mystery to the world of big cats. Their habitat is hostile, beautiful, baron and vast, yet their presence is elegant, gracious, cool and slick. Snow Leopards glide through the largest mountain range on earth searching for prey or claiming their home.

The cats will predominately live at an altitude of 3000m or more but will move higher or lower depending on where there is food. Blue sheep, their favourite prey, are masters of gradient and can be found feeding along edges of cliff. A snow leopards tail allows the cat to balance and follow, plus their thick cloud coloured coats and sizeable paws make them the ultimate predator.

In December 2014 I had the pleasure of guiding a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) group up to Kangchenjunga, a remote corner of North East Nepal. The mission of the expedition was to dart and collar a Snow Leopard as part of a WWF monitoring conservation project. During the amazing 10-day period the mountains came to life and we experienced high suns in deep blue skies, crystal clear nights, forcing haunting winds and 4 ft of snow (as in the photo blog below). The WWF team had strategically set up camera traps in and around the camp to monitor any movements and to determine the best position to capture and collar the leopards. Although a number of blue sheep were near targets no Snow Leopards were collared during this expedition. The clip at the end of this blog shows some results from a WWF Nepal trip earlier this year in May, we go up again this autumn. Do get in touch for further details. 

Photo credit to Dirk Collins @One Eye Bird

After a night of snow fall in Kangchenjunga the team enjoy midday tea to keep them warm.

Top of the range climbing gear keeps the team warm at night especially with unpredictable December weather.

Even the Yaks struggle with the snow

High mountain passes, bleak and baron landscape are a snow leopards’s humble abode.

As day moves into night the ghost of the mountain sets out to hunt the steep cliffs

North face dome tents make the perfect place to spend the night.

The skull of a blue sheep lies on the edge of a river bed up in Kangchenjunga