SNOW LEOPARDS OF MONGOLIA SEPTEMBER 1–15, 2019 Snow Leopard in the Altai of Khovd, western Mongolia © Rafael Gálvez LEADERS: RAFAEL GÁLVEZ & ATTILA STEINER LIST COMPILED BY: RAFAEL GÁLVEZ VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM SNOW LEOPARDS OF MONGOLIA SEPTEMBER 1–15, 2019 By Rafael Gálvez A Lammergeier perched near our ger camp in Khovd. © Rafael Gálvez The colossal enormity of Mongolia finally made its presence once we left Ulaanbaatar. Immediately after flying through the thick smog encapsulating the bustling metropolis, “The Land of Eternal Blue Skies” unfurled in waves of mountain taiga and steppe like an endless earthen ocean below the cobalt immensity. From up high, it certainly looked like one of the least densely populated landmasses on the planet. It was not difficult to imagine ancient hordes riding freely across the uninterrupted expanse, bent on conquering the world. We were flying westward on a quest of our own and, as we approached our destination, the impressive Altai Range was a visible barrier we would not cross, like a battle-ready line of Bökh wrestlers watching over their land. By then, a team of scouts had long been entrenched in those mountains keeping watchful eyes on our behalf. As they traversed up the backs of these giants, they searched for elusive wildlife, particularly mountain mammals. As we landed in Khovd, the setting sun baked the dramatic terrain below, casting long cold shadows. It was difficult to imagine just how we would manage to find a Snow Leopard in such an enormous range. Peter Matthiessen’s words of wholehearted acceptance suddenly came to mind as a possible outcome and still rang true at that early moment, “Have you seen the snow leopard? No! Isn’t that wonderful?” Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 2 Snow Leopards of Mongolia 2019 Although we were barely at the start of our quest, a sense of adventure had captivated us. We were in Mongolia! How were we to know then that by tour’s end we would see 175 species of birds and two dozen species of mammals, some quite rare—including the elusive Snow Leopard! The following morning, we quickly climbed from our traditional ger camp on the foothills of the Altai to Jargalant Mountain, some 2,600 meters (8,530 ft.) in elevation. The views up the slopes and from the top were breathtaking. A vast expanse glimmered in the distance below as we stood amid giant massifs. Raptors were bountiful in the bluest sky: Lammergeiers, Steppe Eagles, and Saker Falcons. After an eventful day of scanning the jagged peaks and gorges of Jargalant from various perspectives, we finally came upon a stunning Snow Leopard resting on a null below a rocky outcrop. Our excitement could not be contained. For over an hour we watched the leopard coil and uncoil at its resting place, then stretch and hop up to an overlook, giving us fantastic views of its profile. Its beautifully spotted coat blended perfectly with the porous rock surrounding it. As it stared into the abyss, its muscular stance and tremendous thick tail made an impressive contour. As the afternoon waned, we left the leopard sprawled belly up on an outcrop, snoozing as expected of any cat, its white belly breaking up the illusion of its form; in a blink the massive predator melted into the landscape as the sun settled. Our ger camp in Khovd at first light. © Rafael Gálvez Without a doubt, a primary focus of our tour was to see the reclusive Snow Leopard. However, it was by no means limited to searches of this mountain feline but included plenty of opportunities to see the diverse wildlife of the region—avian, mammalian, and otherwise. The very first morning in Khovd we were swept by countless wheatears scattered over the burnished slopes surrounding our gers, including Isabelline, Pied, Desert, and Northern. Bands of Mongolian Finches, Horned Larks, and a scattering of pipits and wagtails flew over us with frequency. Whichever way you looked from our camp, Pallas’s Pikas could be seen beside their burrows. And this was true of rodents in general throughout the tour, whether moles, pikas, marmots, gerbils, or hares. It wasn’t uncommon to see groups of Cinereous Vultures resting near our camp at first light. Raptors were a constant presence, and we were treated to some of the best views of eagles, buzzards, and kites. Streams of hundreds and hundreds of Pallas’s Sandgrouse and herds of Saiga Antelope moved over ample stretches of grassland. This was an interesting tour for ungulates, for we also saw Mongolian and Goitered gazelles, Siberian Ibex, Argali, and the iconic Przewalski’s Horse. Away from the capital, people were few, but numerous were the herds of domestic sheep, goats, horses, yaks, and camels wherever we went. The Altai Mountains gave us Güldenstädt’s Redstarts, White-winged Snowfinches, and Altai Snowcocks. The countryside was vast and rugged, generous with unspoiled views. Time and again it felt enough just to be there. Our time in western Mongolia culminated with a beautiful and moving performance by two master throat- singers that came to visit us the final evening at our camp. Khoomei , the ancient art of overtone singing, has been known from western Mongolia and neighboring Tuva for centuries, yet its true origins remain unclear. It is thought that an acoustic element of the region’s expansive plains against the massive thrust Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 3 Snow Leopards of Mongolia 2019 of the Altai was conducive to such an ethereal form of expression, characterized by the singer’s ability to produce a whistle-like harmonic overtone riding over a guttural melody, produced by engaging the throat. The result is a layered set of multiple voices by a single individual; a gravelly rumble like rocks under hooves and a droning whistle like the wind over the steppe, harmonizing as one. This tradition is listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Throat singers Nansalmaa and Zolzaya explaining their musical tradition. © Rafael Gálvez Our performers were young, sweet, and elegant, dressed in traditional garbs and bearing hand-carved instruments. The woman, Zolzaya Damba, has been turning heads in festival circuits as one of the few female khoomei singers, capable of producing a very deep undertone and a whimsical overtone whistle with impressive dexterity. She wore a traditional headband with decorations and strands of beads: turquoise, coral, and silver. She sang and played the flute and a square viol with the neck carved into the head of a horse—the morin khuur . The man was Nansalmaa Nurdee, wearing a lustrous red deel robe. He sang and played the khun tovshuur , a two-stringed lute with a camel hide cover; legend has it that it was given to the people by a swan, so the head is carved and painted like that of a Mute Swan. That night the moon was full and the air outside chilled, and listening to the khoomei singers in the intimate circle of the ger felt like we were being initiated to some kind of vital human secret. The reverberating sounds of the steppe spoken as harmony between man and nature were a mystery we could only but begin to perceive. That is how western Mongolia felt—alluring and unknowable. Having already traveled worlds away to the Mongol-Altai, our adventures were only half done. We then flew back east to the capital in order to proceed to surrounding natural areas. The car ride from the airport to Hustai National Park was a culture shock. As we stopped for fuel, multiple plumes of smoke bellowed from coal power plants displaced throughout the cityscape. Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the Victor Emanuel Nature Tours 4 Snow Leopards of Mongolia 2019 world, with an exploding population of 1.5 million inhabitants burning raw coal during long winters, resulting in a severe air pollution problem. It seemed like we couldn’t get away from the city quickly enough. At the outskirts we crossed long industrial sectors that echoed the rapid growth of the capital. However, soon we were driving through beautiful steppe, characterized by long rounded hills covered with grasses. For the following couple of days we explored Hustai with the primary aim of seeing the Przewalski’s Horse, the last surviving wild form of the horse, characterized by a large head and stout neck with a short erect mane, thicker and shorter legs, and a pelage uniformly golden-brown. For much of an afternoon, we watched several small groups along the slopes. Not far from us a male with its harem, including females with colts were slowly grazing downhill. It was captivating to watch these wild horses interact, particularly as outsiders approached an established group and tempers flared. A number of highlights were exclusive to the Hustai area, including a covey of more than a dozen Daurian Partridges, great views of Eastern Buzzards, a flash-by suite of five simultaneous bunting species, and a Chinese Gray Shrike surprise—a species that is poorly known from Mongolia and is a rare localized breeder. Here we also saw our sole herds of Mongolian Gazelle and an impressive bevy of dozens of Red Deer bucks bearing large antlers, moving along cliff tops. Przewalski’s Horses, Hustai. © Rafael Gálvez From Hustai we continued to Gun Galuut National Park, where we explored a variety of grassy slopes and steppe corridors entwining boulder-strewn hills. We searched for a variety of specialties here and were quick to find the impressive Argali Sheep, with enormous horns coiled at their heads.