Rare Footage Captures Snow Leopards and Cubs in Mongolia for the First Time

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For the first time, researchers have captured video footage of snow leopard dens, offering a rare glimpse into the lives of these elusive animals. The footage in Mongolia’s Tost Mountains shows a mother snow leopard with her cubs.

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Scientists from Panthera, a conservation group focused on wild cats, and the Snow Leopard Trust recorded the videos.

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Snow leopards are notoriously difficult to track due to their secretive behavior and the rugged, remote terrain they inhabit. This has made finding their dens a significant challenge.

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Orjan Johansson, a field scientist with Panthera, managed to film the snow leopard and her cubs using a camera attached to an extended pole. He captured the footage from a safe distance as the family rested in a partially man-made den.

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Dr. Tom McCarthy, Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program executive director, shared the significance of this moment, stating, “We have spent years trying to understand where and when snow leopards give birth, the size of their litter, and how many cubs survive to adulthood. After years of effort, this video offers a rare and invaluable look into an animal’s life that faces numerous challenges today.”

During the research, a team, which included a veterinarian, visited two dens while the mother leopards were away hunting.

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One den contained two cubs, and the other held a single cub. The researchers carefully weighed, measured, and photographed the cubs, also implanting tiny microchip ID tags, about the size of a grain of rice, under the skin of two cubs for future identification.

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The team prioritized the cubs’ safety, ensuring their handling did not endanger them. In the following days, the team monitored the mother snow leopards to ensure they returned to their dens, which they did successfully.

Dr. Howard Quigley, Panthera’s executive director, emphasized the importance of these findings. “Understanding the early stages of life is crucial to learning how big cat populations grow and thrive. This new research provides valuable insights that can shape future conservation efforts.”

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Known to locals as “Asia’s Mountain Ghost,” snow leopards remain one of the most mysterious big cats, especially regarding their cubs. Until now, most of the knowledge about cub-rearing came from studying zoo snow leopards.

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While zoo records show typical litter sizes of one to three cubs, little was known about litters in the wild.

Wild cubs face threats from natural predators, disease, and human-related dangers, such as poaching and illegal wildlife trade. The survival rate of cubs reaching adulthood had previously been speculative.

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Using microchip tags and further observation, scientists hope to gather essential data about how snow leopard dens are chosen, how long cubs stay when they begin following their mothers outside, and how often they leave them to hunt.

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This research will also provide a clearer picture of typical litter sizes and cub survival rates in the wild.

These findings and data collected from camera traps and GPS collaring will aid Panthera’s ongoing conservation work across the snow leopard’s habitat range.

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