Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)

[Ngala]

Photo and information credits: Vinod Bartakke
This was my third visit to Kibber and for me it was one of the most successful Snow Leopard expeditions ever!

Kibber is indeed a wildlife heaven – where one gets to see/observe snow leopards along with other lesser wildlife. We observed & photographed 3 different snow leopard individuals within a span of 7 days. Almost all of the snow leopard sightings were for a full day (usually between 8am to 5.30pm). Weather conditions become adverse after 5pm and most of the times we had to leave the snow leopard and get back to our base camp (Hotel RedFox)
Thanks to a great team of trackers - we also got some good photographs of Red fox, Ibexes, Bearded Vultures (Lammergeier), Golden Eagles, Tibetan Snow finches, Great Rosefinches, etc..

Extremely fortunate to have witnessed a snow leopard hunting attempt! It was past 5pm & light was fading fast when the Snow Leopard started to move. It stalked 3 male ibexes for more than 20 minutes. There was a moment when the leopard was hardly 40 meters from the Ibexes. Ibexes were lucky, they sensed the presence of the predator and started running. The hunt was unsuccessful but the thrill we experienced cannot be described in words! 

Thanks to Team RedFox and SpitiUnited for a mind-blowing experience - Indrajit, Sushil Dorje, Tenzin Dorje, Meme Tsering, Meme Dariya, Ringzin, Shonam, Lattu, Kunga, Kesang , Tashi Tenzin, Norbu and many more! 

Chinmay started this whole project a few years back with a great vision and what a team he has built! We hope to work towards completing his dream and make this a big success! Really proud to be associated with SpitiUnited!

*This image is copyright of its original author

Reply