Snowleopards and mongolian wilderness

News

2010.10.28

Written by: Örjan Johansson

The swedish scientist Örjan Johansson called us up and got us really hooked up when he told us about extreme weather conditions, wild animals and science in Mongolia…


I got employed by the Snow Leopard Trust http://www.snowleopard.org in 2008 to be the first researcher of the first long term study of the snow leopard. My main task is to catch snow leopards and provide them with neck collars. Inside the collars is a GPS-transmitter which collects data of where the animal is located several times each day. When the position is located a satellite telephone begins to transmit the position to Internet and then we can follow the animal. After one year the batteries dies and falls off. In the mountain range of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, I spent roughly a half-year in the field.  We live in jurts, the traditionally Mongolian tent. Contact with the surrounding world is made with a satellite telephone which can be connected to a computer. We have a bunch of high technological equipment driven by solar energy.  This is a big contrast if you compare it to the simple life in the jurts. Dried goat meat hanging from the ceiling, and the jurts that is heated by firing up some camel droppings, coal and branches in our stove. Anyway everything is good up here. I’ve been in the camp for almost four months now. It was very cold in the beginning and on some places there’s still snow in the mountains. The whole Mongolia has been striked hard by the winter and a lot of cattle have died. Unfortunately some people have died due to the weather. The Mongolians call the weather ”Zud” – It means that when the snow gets so tightly packed by the wind that the cattle is unable to kick thru the snow to reach the pasturage – it´s zud. There are hardly any shepherds left in ”my” mountains. They have moved far away to find pasturage for their cattle.Today there is basically no knowledge about the snow leopard at all and without knowledge it is impossible to know what kind of intervention we should apply to preserve the species. The purpose with the study is partly to develop basic knowledge but also to find the methods for the locals to coexist with the snow leopards. That will benefit both parts.The mountains are completely silent - one cannot even hear the birds – but they are far from empty of animals. Except the snow leopard there’s lynx, ibex, argali sheep and plenty of eagles and vultures and smaller animals. Many of the animals are quite unafraid of humans. Yesterday I stood 430 feet from a group of twenty ibexes. They stood on a rock shelf and looked at me. In the view of my breathing after the climbing they realized that I wasn’t so much of a threat.


 


 


 


Örjan Johansson



 

Newsletter

Monthly news, friends and product updates.
OK

News Archive

2012.05.08 Did you say 3 PET-bottles?
2012.04.26 Greetings from Pure Freeride Camp!
2012.03.15 Spring and summer collection for 2012 is here!
2012.03.06 Pure Freeride Camp!
2012.02.07 New colors on their way!
2012.02.07 Winner of the Houdini Magic Moments in January!
2012.01.30 Woman of The Year in the sports industry!
2012.01.26 Facts and philosophy behind Houdini's sustainability work
2012.01.26 Undercover Suit
2012.01.20 Fusion Shell
2012.01.02 Share your favorite magic moment!
2011.11.29 Alpha Baselayer
2011.11.03 Tell Cold weather where to go!
2011.09.27 Motion Jacket
2011.09.20 Houdini is launching a new baselayer!
2011.09.05 Action Twill Pants
2011.08.31 Women's Bliss Tunic
2011.08.22 Houdini Teams up with Mountain Guides Travel!
2011.07.21 Winner of S.O.A
2011.06.09 Alpha Houdi
2011.05.25 Liquid Rock Pants
2011.03.03 Pure Freeride Camp
2011.01.13 Houdini ranked among Europe's 25 most creative companies
2011.01.12 Space Jacket
2010.11.18 Fusion Comfort Shell
2010.10.28 Snowleopards and mongolian wilderness
2010.08.22 Fall and Winter news from Houdini
2010.08.03 For off-road activities on land and on water
2010.07.28 Thanks!
2010.07.08 Houdini at Friedrichshafen
2010.06.17 Back to Indian Creek
2010.06.17 Dries in no time
2010.05.07 Metropolis Tee
2010.03.22 Freeride World Tour
2010.03.19 Fusion
2010.03.02 Spring and Summer collection 2010
2010.01.22 See you at ISPO
2009.09.03 Pro Houdi
2009.08.11 Now it's here, 2009's Fall & Winter collection!
2009.08.04 Join us at Facebook
2009.07.29 Transition Stretch, a truely sustainable thermal layer
2009.07.21 Pura Vida
2009.07.15 The Houdini Team is back from Germany
2009.04.07 Meet Houdini at Pure Freeride Camp
2009.03.24 Ane Enderud Freeride World Champion
2009.03.09 Liquid Rock Pants
2009.02.23 Ane Enderud won in Chamonix!
2008.05.21
2007.12.12 Peak UK Himalayan Challenge November 2007
2007.06.13 Swedish Meatballs