On the Trail of the Mountain Monarchs

One of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation, Dr. George B Schaller has been instrumental in protecting some of the planet’s most endangered and iconic species. Through he has travelled across a range of habitats, the mountains have always been the closest to his heart and soul. Dr. Schaller takes us back to his mountainous ventures as he talks about his experiences and challenges of conservation efforts in the Himalayas

 

- DR. George B Schaller

While scanning the jagged slopes for blue sheep during a survey in the Datung Range (Tibetan Plateau), my Chinese colleague Liang Xuchang spotted a furry head peering at us over a boulder with frosty eyes. Snow leopard! There were two of them feasting on a five-year-old blue sheep ram. We watched each other for 35 minutes before the cats melted away leaving us exalted in this rendezvous. The Qinghai Province, where we were working, considers the snow leopard a symbol of its mountain realm signifying ecological health of the system. No wonder Milarepa (sixteenth century hermit) mentioned this place as “where the snow leopards dance.”

THE MOUNTAINS CALL