Mongolia’s South Gobi holds some of the most remote and rugged terrain on Earth, where one snow leopard named Sukhee now moves under constant observation. Earlier this year the Wildlife Conservation Society Mongolia team placed a GPS collar on the animal, and his travels have already covered hundreds of kilometres through unprotected mountains, valleys and grasslands. Daily transmissions reveal resting spots, hunting grounds and the ridges that form his territory, shared with herders, domestic livestock, ibex and argali. The data arrive from a landscape that remains one of the easternmost and most vulnerable strongholds for the species in the country.
Real-Time Insights From an Elusive Predator
Camera traps and satellite collars have transformed what scientists can learn about snow leopards in just two decades. Where once vast stretches of habitat stayed hidden, researchers now track individual movements across fragmented desert terrain with precision. Sukhee’s signals show how he navigates between wild prey areas and zones used by pastoral communities, highlighting the fine balance that exists in these open rangelands.
Yet the same technology also underscores how much remains unknown about the wider ecosystem. The collar records one animal’s story, but it cannot yet answer which parts of the landscape will prove most resilient as conditions shift. That gap in understanding grows more pressing each season.
A Landscape Under Pressure
Mongolia’s rangelands support extraordinary wildlife, including roughly 80 percent of the world’s remaining khulan, nearly the entire global population of Mongolian gazelles, and the country’s second-largest snow leopard population, estimated at around 950 individuals. The same grasslands sustain traditional herding families and host species such as the endangered Mongolian saiga and marmots that help shape soil and vegetation. Migratory birds, pollinators and other organisms complete the web of life that has persisted for centuries.
The severe dzud of 2024 exposed the fragility of this system. More than seven million livestock perished nationwide by June, and teams documented over 500 dead Mongolian gazelles in monitored eastern areas alone. Wildlife impacts beyond those counts stay largely unmeasured, leaving open questions about which ecosystems sit closest to critical thresholds and where restoration efforts would yield the greatest returns for both people and biodiversity.
Connecting Science With Place
Long-term monitoring of snow leopards has already answered questions once considered impossible: average lifespan in the wild, age of first reproduction, territory size, preferred prey and interactions with livestock. The same level of detail is now needed for entire landscapes, including water sources that limit life in the Gobi and the seasonal routes used by wild ungulates.
Mongolia will host the seventeenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification this month, an occasion that coincides with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. The gathering offers a platform to demonstrate how intact, high-integrity grasslands underpin both wildlife and human livelihoods under changing climate conditions.
What Matters Now
Investing in sustained ecological monitoring, combining local knowledge with scientific data, and strengthening the capacity to track environmental change will determine how well these landscapes adapt. Sukhee’s continuing journey across the South Gobi supplies one valuable piece of a much larger puzzle.
The future of snow leopards and the communities that share their range depends on functioning rangelands, reliable water systems and the ability to respond to extremes. Knowledge gained through careful observation remains one of the most practical tools available for building that resilience in a rapidly changing world.
