The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the most elusive big cat on the planet. Mongolia's Altai range hosts around 1,000 of them, one of the largest national populations in the world. Most trekkers who spend a week in snow leopard habitat will never see one. They see tracks. They hear stories. That is as it should be.
The Threat
Retaliatory killing when leopards take livestock is the leading cause of death. In herder communities that lose a horse worth $800 or a yak worth $1,200 to a snow leopard, the economic impact is severe. Without a livestock insurance programme, the response is predictable.
The Approach
We partner with the Snow Leopard Trust Mongolia. 5% of profits from our Altai expeditions go to their herder insurance programme. When a leopard takes a verified animal, the herder receives 80% compensation, funded by our guests, sustained by our commitment. Retaliation drops. Leopards survive. Tracks continue.
What Guests See
You will likely not see a snow leopard. You will see scat. You will see scratch posts on rock faces. You will see prey, ibex, argali sheep. You will hear from a shepherd who lost a yak last winter and was compensated within 40 days.
What Counts as Success
We do not count leopard sightings as success. We count leopard survival as success. In the Jargalant Khairkhan range where we focus, camera traps show 14 individual leopards in 2023 versus 9 in 2018. The population is recovering.
