Baptiste Mourcel
Photographe

Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan (a country in Central Asia and former republic of the USSR) is the first stop of our mission

The expedition really begins several hours from Bishkek, with our departure in 4x4 from the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul

During the 7 hours of dirt roads on the high plateaus, we only came across a mining transport truck and some nomadic shepherds

We are welcomed with curiosity at the Koyundu Ranger camp, gateway to the Sarychat Reserve

The team prepares to retrace a short distance to reach another checkpoint, more formal, at the Uch Kochkon military post

First technical problems on return from the post, breakdowns are frequent on the dirt roads and the drivers are very ingenious

After a night to acclimatize to the altitude, we divide our belongings and food for 2 weeks into large saddlebags

The valley which will be our study site for 2 weeks is surrounded by the “celestial” Tian Shan mountains

The old sheepfold with basic comfort will serve as our kitchen and dining room when we are on camp

We cover most of the distances between our camps and the study areas on horseback, ending up on foot

The group does daily transects (linear prospecting) on foot on different ridges in the south of the reserve

Camera traps are often installed around rocks, on ridges, in places where panthers mark their territory

We are accompanied by 3 rangers from the reserve, including Ulan who particularly likes to pose for the picture

Ulan takes advantage of the blue hour, during which the animals are active, to observe the surrounding ridges with a spotting scope

Tchimchtik, one of the rangers, prepares tea, the Kyrgyz drink of choice: often green in the south, they prefer it black in the north

Back at camp, the moments of rest are often spent observing and counting the animals in the surrounding area

We regularly observe herds of mouflons or ibexes on the surrounding slopes

Visits to the main camp are also an opportunity to replenish the stock of “tezek”, a peat made from sheep dung

Dried horse dung is also an effective fuel for heating the stove and teapots

This expedition is also an opportunity to test a new method of collecting pieces of Snow Leopard feces

Once the sample has been taken, we can admire the incredible environment that we share with the Snow Leopard

We take advantage of a break at the end of the day to install the spotting scope and scan the ridges of the valley

We are lucky enough to observe mouflons and ibexes daily but often from very far away

We take advantage of our return to camp to make tea, bread and dry our equipment after the rain

The Rangers also have the official mission of taking note of all the animals they observe at camp and during our outings

We take advantage of our last night in the reserve to admire the stars in a sky without any light pollution

On the pass, the first signs of our return to civilization are the dilapidated pylons of an old high-voltage line

The horses are released until their next mission for which they will have to be picked up and regrouped

On our side, we leave the Ranger camp the next morning to descend from the high plateaus, towards Bishkek. THE END...FOR NOW

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