{"id":36200,"date":"2026-09-04T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=36200"},"modified":"2026-09-04T12:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:27:45","slug":"four-gps-collars-tracked-snow-leopards-across-the-himalayas-for-1239-days-and-revealed-home-ranges-up-to-97-times-larger-than-earlier-estimates-with-three-cats-repeatedly-crossing-between-nepal-ind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/four-gps-collars-tracked-snow-leopards-across-the-himalayas-for-1239-days-and-revealed-home-ranges-up-to-97-times-larger-than-earlier-estimates-with-three-cats-repeatedly-crossing-between-nepal-ind\/36200\/","title":{"rendered":"Four GPS collars tracked snow leopards across the Himalayas for 1,239 days and revealed home ranges up to 97 times larger than earlier estimates, with three cats repeatedly crossing between Nepal, India, and China as if the borders did not exist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four GPS locations<\/a> collars followed the trail of snow leopards in the Himalaya during many days, and it showed how these animals repeatedly crossed into India or China, revealing home ranges between 6 to 97 times larger than previous calculations that were done in Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four collars opened a rare window into the mountains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This satellite GPS collar<\/a> placement in Nepal\u2019s Kangchenjunga Conservation Area<\/a> was done between November 2013 and May 2017 on four snow leopards. The devices were strictly programmed so that they recorded a position every four hours. This means that they generated 4,707 locations across 1,239 tracking days!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: Four GPS collars tracked snow leopards across the Himalayas for 1,239 days and revealed home ranges up to 97 times larger than earlier estimates, with three cats repeatedly crossing between Nepal, India, and China as if the borders did not exist<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Still, researchers say that getting those points was not easy at all. For example, one collar randomly stopped its transmissions after 20 days and another one only could track the adult male Ghangjenjwenga for 659 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Conservation
A conservation team works with a snow leopard during GPS collaring in Nepal, part of research designed to reveal how the elusive cats move through remote Himalayan terrain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The cats treated national borders like ordinary ridgelines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three of the four snow leopards crossed an international boundary five to seven times each. Specifically, two of them, Yalung and Ghangjenjwenga, moved into India\u2019s Khangchendzonga National Park<\/a> as if it were a daily part of their lives. For you to have an idea,during their tracking periods, the cats spent 10.3 percent to 34.3 percent of their time outside Nepal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This idea of cats not following human maps can be illustrated by Rinjan Shrestha<\/a> quote: \u201cSnow leopards don\u2019t recognize human maps.\u201d Rinjan Shrestha<\/a>, WWF-Canada\u2019s lead specialist for Asian big cats<\/a>, wrote this after initially participating in the collocation of the GPS collars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the 97 times figure needs some context<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, how large can a snow leopard’s territory be? People constantly working on these matters suggest that a tighter method estimates ranges of 102 to 312 square kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now with the GPS collars<\/a>, it could be seen that they can collect data across vastly more extensive territory. This happens because the GPS can gather much more information when the territories are inaccessible (which traditional VHF methods could not achieve)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A park boundary cannot protect the whole journey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having the information,and mostly the confirmation that the leopards are moving around the high mountain habitats<\/a> of Nepal\u2019s Kangchenjunga Conservation Area, India\u2019s Khangchendzonga National Park, and China\u2019s Qomolangma, leads researchers to suggest coordination between Nepal, India and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: Four snow leopards wearing GPS collars in Nepal sent back 4,707 signals, and three of them crossed into China and India so often that the conservation map no longer fits<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Actions like compatible monitoring, community support, or connected habitat planning<\/a>, could really help the conservation follow the animal instead of stopping at a checkpoint. Nepal\u2019s Conservation Action Plan<\/a> for 2024 to 2030 is another wake-up-call to remember how important regional and international cooperation is to preserve the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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