Snow Leopard Caught on Camera After Catching Marmot

Posted by David Braun of National Geographic in Cat Watch on October 10, 2014

A research camera in Kyrgyzstan has captured amazing photos of a snow leopard carrying a freshly killed marmot. 

Snow Leopard Trust/Snow Leopard Foundation Kyrgyzstan/State agency on environmental protection and forestry under the government of the Kyrgyz Republic/Woodland Park Zoo

Photo credit: Snow Leopard Trust/Snow Leopard Foundation Kyrgyzstan/State agency on environmental protection and forestry under the government of the  Kyrgyz Republic/Woodland Park Zoo

By Matt Fiechter, Snow Leopard Trust
A remote-sensor research camera snapped a photo of a wild snow leopard in Kyrgyzstan’s Sarychat Ertash Nature Reserve shortly after the cat had caught a marmot. 

During the short mountain summer, these rodents add some diversity to the snow leopard’s diet.
The Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Foundation Kyrgyzstan have deployed more than 30 trap cameras in Sarychat Ertash in order estimate how many of these endangered cats remain in this remote mountain outpost.

Through innovative programs, effective partnerships, and the latest science, the Snow Leopard Trust is saving the magnificent snow leopard and improving the lives of people who live in the snow leopard countries of Central Asia.

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