A TREK TO CAPTURE THE GREY GHOST

A TREK TO CAPTURE THE GREY GHOST

                       The snow leopard we saw walking away from her kill.

The Snow Leopard, a majestic creature so elusive and so rarely seen that it is considered to be the stuff of legend and occupies a place on the shelf of immortals with the likes of dragons, yetis, big foot and mermaids. I have always been fascinated by wildlife and the Snow Leopard has always intrigued my instincts to one day trek and hope to catch a glimpse of this creature that is so close to becoming a myth. Little did I know that the trek would come all too soon. Not too long after my return to India from Singapore in late January 2013, did I find myself yearning for a vacation after all my plans to explore the great south east Asian landscapes had failed. It was in the spur of the moment while I was pondering about my future one evening, was I enlightened with the thought of pursuing my lifelong dream to track the Snow Leopard. It was the best time to see the Snow Leopard firstly as I had no job and had time on my hands and secondly, it was the right time to spot the cat as the Snow Leopard mating season falls between February and March. In a flash I was off calling my best friend to plan the trip.

                                                            Landing at Leh.

It was a 10 day trip scheduled from the 22^nd of February to the 3^rd of March. Little did I know then, that the trip would be one of the most challenging and exhilarating adventures that would change my life on a permanent basis. My friend and I left Delhi during the wee hours of 22^nd February and arrived in Leh. The whole of the previous night was spent in prayers and hopes of the plane landing in Leh and not being cancelled due to ‘bad weather’ as there are chances of strong snow fall during February and the pilots would not risk flying in such weather. The luck to see the snow leopard begins with the plane landing in Leh. On arriving at Leh we found ourselves a small guest house and planned to spend the next two days in Leh in order to get acclimatized to the high altitude. The consequences of not getting acclimatized was high altitude sickness and if one of us was affected by it, it would mean that the trip would be cut short and that we would have to fly back to Delhi on the same day. It was very cold in Leh and all we could do was watch TV or look out the window at the huge snow-capped mountains. That evening, at about 5pm, I was on the phone call with one of my friends and was sitting by the window sill. My friend Keerthan was looking out of the window and jumped for joy as he saw some animal with a rusty brown coat run across the mountain. Within a flash we were out of the guest house and onto the mountains scanning the mountain tops. I immediately took out my binoculars and within a minute spotted a dog like animal sitting on a stone, at the top of the mountain. Keerthan started to scream ‘Snow Leopard, Snow Leopard’ as the sitting posture was similar to that of a cat but it was too small to be a snow leopard and its nose and ears were similar to that of a dog. I was half way up the mountain when I found myself stranded and could go no further up and was able to get a snap from my camera. The dog like animal got up and walked away without giving us a second glimpse. When we came back to the room and analysed the photo and compared it with a book I had on the Mammals of Himalayas, we realised that it was a ‘Himalayan red fox’. We were ecstatic as we knew that luck was on our side right from the very first day. The next day, we climbed up the mountain to spot the fox but found no trace of it.

Keerthan and I were met by a short, very casually dressed man during the late afternoon hours of the 23^rd. His name was Dorjay Stanzin and he was going to be our guide for the trip. Dorjay in his track pants, blue shirt, black scarf and a thick jacket was as excited about the trip as we were right from the start. I told him that my intention was to track the snow leopard and get a chance to view it in its entirety. He smiled at my short outburst and said ‘no problem in Ladakh’. I told him that I wanted to go to Uley first and then to Hemis national park. Boy, what a mistake that would have been if we stuck to that plan. Dorjay told us that, there are better chances of us spotting the snow leopard at Hemis rather than at Uley and suggested that we do hemis national park first and then Uley later on. So we decided to leave for Hemis on the 24^th of February and trek in the park for 3 days. That day Keerthan and I visited the Thicksey monastery and the Shanti Stupa in Leh. At the monastery we saw many Buddhist prayer wheels and I spun two of them as I made two wishes. The first wish was to see the snow leopard and the second I do not wish to disclose here. The first wish has now come true!!!!!

                             Keerthan on the right and I on the left making snow men in the fresh snow.

I woke up to an unexpected snow fall on the 24^th morning and I immediately received a phone call from Dorjay carrying bad news. He told me that we have to cancel the trip for the day, if the snow fall doesn’t stop by 11 am and it was 9am then and snowing heavily. I quickly woke up Keerthan and we decided to go out and play in the snow with the locals. We quickly found ourselves making snow-mans’ and throwing snow balls with the people who work there. I went into the room to have a cup of Chai and I heard Keerthan screaming ‘Harsha come out!!!!! It has stopped snowing’. I immediately called Dorjay and asked him to come over ASAP. We left Leh that afternoon around 1.30 pm. We were happy for we had experienced the last snowfall of Leh. It was as if Leh, was showering us with blessings and good luck to spot one of the most elusive creatures that has ever walk the face of the planet.

Dorjay and I having a bit of fun on a frozen river.

We reached a small village called Jinjiang by taxi and we could go no further. Our entire luggage was to be emptied from the car and loaded onto the donkeys. We planned to stay in a village called Rumbak which lies at the heart of the Hemis national park. It was a good 3 hour trek from Jinjiang. The donkeys went ahead of us. Keerthan and I were relishing in the beautiful landscape of the Hemis national park amidst the great Himalayan Mountains. After about an hour into the trek, we approached a valley known as Tarbung valley. On the other side of the valley were 10 black dots, which I later realised after continuously scanning through the binoculars, that those dots were people. Two people out of nowhere carrying chai came up to Dorjay and started to speak in Ladaki. Keerthan and I were oblivious to what they were talking. After the two men left, I asked Dorjay, what the men had to say. Dorjay said, there’s a snow leopard kill on top of the mountain, opposite the ten black dots that you see. I was shocked as I knew that my chances of seeing the snow leopard could come true. But I never could imagine it could come this early. Just one hour into the trek. I hesitantly asked, “Is it a snow leopard kill? “Not wanting to hear a no after getting so excited. Dorjay’s response was ‘Chance’, which meant that it could be a snow leopard kill. I told Dorjay, let’s go and take a look. Dorjay said, it’s an hours’ trek up to that mountain where the small dots were, pointing at the people and if we make it then it’s an hours trek back to the current spot where we were standing and that it would take another two hours from our current spot to Rumbak. I told him very irrationally, that we came all the way just to see snow leopards and I wouldn’t miss even the slightest of chances of seeing them, if I could. Quickly we were off. Dorjay was way ahead of us and was always scanning the landscape through the Binoculars. We were walking on a ridge between two mountains. One mountain covered with snow whiles the other barren with red mud. Dorjay told us to be careful and that he would go ahead of us and if there’s anything worth seeing, he would call us or else he would save us the trouble of walking all the way to the valley and not seeing anything and that he would return immediately and we would be on our way back to Rumbak. Dorjay set off quickly trotting away to glory and keerthan and I followed his footsteps slowly and precariously. We kept our every step on his footprint, carefully avoiding the loose sand and snow.

Marching on when we heard the news of a possible snow leopard sighting.

I quickly looked up and spotted a Lammergeyer, hovering around in circles and I guessed that the great vulture would be flying over the kill. After an hour into the trek, I saw Dorjay sitting on top of a rock, asking me to come slowly. I asked him if there was a snow leopard and all he said was ‘come slowly’. I asked him again, as I did not receive an answer to my question. He said come slowly. I soon realised that, there might be a leopard, that’s why the people are still there. By this time, keerthan was way behind me, so far back that when I turned, he wasn’t within the frame of my eye. I slowly made my way up the mountain and walked to Dorjay and he told me that there are two snow leopards, up on the mountain opposite us. They were so high up that one cannot possibly see them with their naked eyes. There was a fine gentleman setting next to Dorjay with a spotting scope, I humbly requested him for the use of his scope. He was perched comfortably on a rock and he hung back just a little and said, “go right ahead but make it quick as I am old and cannot stay like this for more than a minute”, in his British accent. I looked through the spotting scope while he was explaining the position of the leopards. All I could see was a blur white image. And the man told me, that’s the snow leopard. By this time, I could see Keerthan at the bottom of the mountain. He looked at me. He didn’t say a world. His eyes asked the question. And I said, yes my friend, there are two snow leopards, a mating couple. I just realised that my decision to tell him was an erroneous one. I should have never have told him that. Keerthan went off track and started to climb the mountain vertically instead of following Dorjay’s tracks, which was a longer path that lead to us from around the mountain. He slipped a couple of times while I was shouting, “get back to the path and follow Dorjay’s tracks.” Now I knew why Dorjay never told me that there were snow leopards when I asked him the question. It took Keerthan three failed attempts and three falls to realise that he could not make it up the mountain that way. In his excitement, he blocked all other sounds and his mind was focused on getting to us by the shortest route, needless to mention the most dangerous one. He finally came to his senses and took a long deep breathe before getting back to Dorjay’s tracks. As we are at a high altitude, the oxygen content in the air is very less and people begin to tire our fast. Keerthan finally came to us and I requested the gentleman to share his spotting scope with Keerthan. The kind man did so by telling Keerthan exactly what he told me, “Go right ahead but make it quick as I am old and cannot stay like this for more than a minute”. As Keerthan was looking through the spotting scope, he screamed and said I can see them. I was anxious to see again as Keerthan could see them clearly but all I could see was a blurred whitish image. I wasn’t even sure, about what I was looking at. Dorjay then said, let’s go higher up the mountain as there are more people with better spotting scopes and from there we can get a better view. I was off immediately and when we reached the spot, I went up to a very handsome gentleman with a Swarovski spotting scope and asked him for the use of his spotting scope. His reply was very kind and sweet. He told me that he had been looking at the leopards all day and that I could use the spotting scope for as long as I want. I grabbed the spotting scope with both my hands and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The clarity of the spotting scope was exceptional. It was so good that I could see the yellow colour tinge in the eyes of the snow leopard. I got lost looking into the spotting scope. 

Male Snow Leopard on the left while the female walks up to greet him.

I could see a male snow leopard lying down on a rock. Just below him was his female mate sitting up. I never thought that snow leopards could be so big. The snow leopards had a very thick grey coloured coat and dark black rosettes all around. Their camouflage was excellent allowing them to blend in with the mountains in the vicinity. The male had a huge head with a white goti like beard at the bottom of his jaw. His eyes were bright yellow. The Female snow leopard got up and started to climb towards the male. Within no time, she was next to him, trying to wake him up by rubbing her cheek against his. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I pinched myself just to see if what I was seeing was real or just a dream. People travel for years to the park and don’t even get a glimpse of the snow leopard and here I am, within two hours of entering the park and I am seeing two fully grown snow leopards. I asked myself again, is it real? If it’s a dream, it’s a bloody good dream and I do not wish to wake up.

I’m looking at the snow leopard through the spotting scope while keerthan waits patiently for his turn.

Now it’s been almost half an hour into seeing the leopard and I still had the spotting scope all to myself. The male got up and so did the female snow leopard. The male started to rub his face against hers and he pushed her up the rock. The male then walked away, leaving the female alone on the rock. The female just sat on the rock and stared at us. At this time, someone shouted, it’s getting dark and we should leave them guys. I said to myself that I am not leaving without a picture, so I quickly aimed my camera at the spotting scope and clicked a few pictures. The pictures did not come out right. I then took out my I Phone and clicked some pictures through the spotting scope but it was to no avail. Then someone handed me a very small camera. I quickly put my memory card into that small camera and aimed through the spotting scope at the leopards and was able to get some good photos of the snow leopards. In this situation my canon SLR wasn’t good enough and a very small handy camera came to my rescue. I then turned around and hugged Keerthan and said buddy, two hours into the trek and the snow leopard expedition is a grand success. We saw the big cats, for almost an hour. And we left the cats where they were and the three of us were on our way down the mountain back to our original trail that would lead us to Rumbak.

It is of utmost importance here that I find it suitable to narrate Keerthan’s perception about ‘me and luck’. Keerthan has been to wildlife reserves a couple of times and has never seen a big cat in his life. I on the other hand have been travelling to wildlife reserves all my life and have had very good encounters with Tigers and Leopards and hence Keerthan and his alike consider me, a very lucky person to travel with. We travelled together to a wildlife reserve for the first time together about two years ago and we saw two leopards. One leopard hung around the safari vehicle for close to an hour and Keerthan was able to get some good pictures of it. Ever since then he keeps asking me to accompany him on such getaways but I never could find the time. This was our second trip into the wild together. A month before the trip, when I first disclosed my plans to visit Ladakh, he told  me with a very confident attitude that, we will spot the snow leopard as he is going with the luckiest person on the planet (me). I told him how elusive the animal was and even a glimpse was really difficult in that terrain. He immediately shut me up by saying, “look at whom I’m going with, it’s ‘you’ buddy and I know that you are extremely lucky with wildlife and if the snow leopard is lucky it will see you”.  After seeing the two snow leopards within the first two hours of our trek, he looked at me, while we were walking down the mountain and said “Buddy I knew you would show me the snow leopard”. I shied away in a state of euphemism.

I can’t find the words to describe how I felt while I was looking at the two snow leopards. After looking at the snow leopards, I have a new found respect for them. They are very majestic and elegant animals. While I was looking through the spotting scope, I told myself that I was the luckiest guy on the planet for that one hour. To see such creatures of beauty for so long was more than what I had wished for. I thanked my lucky stars and told myself that, if ever there is a god, I am ever so grateful to him for letting me live long enough to see this day.

While the three of us were walking down the mountain, I found myself lost in tantrums of soliloquies, trying to grasp and sink in all that had transpired. Within a blink of an eye, one hour had passed and now all that remains of it is just a memory.  I was walking slowly trying to drag various parts of what I remembered into one unique wholeness and was determined to make a solid compilation of the various fragments of the snow leopard sighting. At times I wasn’t sure where I was walking and slipped a couple of times. By this time keerthan and Dorjay were way ahead of me. After an hours trek we reach a point where we first diverted from our original route to see the snow leopard. Now Dorjay said, it’s a two hour trek to Rumbak and it’s currently 6 ‘o’ clock. Not so far away from here is a camping site where all the foreigners stay. We are going there for some chai and if you guys are really tired, you could spend the night in one of the tents. On reaching the camp I realised that all our sleeping bags have been sent to Rumbak with the donkeys and that we would freeze to death without them. After having some chai, we decided to trek to Rumbak. By now it was getting really dark and we have a very tough two hour trek ahead of us. Fresh from the adrenaline rush of seeing two snow leopards, I decided to carry on with the trek.  It was the toughest and the best trek of my life thus far.

A full moon night trek at –20 degrees.

Out of sheer coincidence, that particular day fell on the first full moon night of the month. We never realise the power of the moon light in the cities as the cities are very bright with artificial lights. The moon was so bright that I felt someone was holding a mag-light torch along every step of the way. That night we had to walk over frozen ponds, streams and rivers. Climb treacherous mountainous paths in the bitter cold. It was around -20 degrees and the wind was so strong that I dare not lift my head up and walk for fear of my eyelids freezing shut. I tied a scarf around my head that covered my mouth as well. My eyes were fixed on the ground, and if I could see Dorjay’s footprint in the snow I would follow. After about an hour into the trek we came to a frozen stream where the ice was too thin and was cracking up with every step. Some parts of the stream were so slippery that at times I would skid for twenty meters before taking a fall. After crossing the frozen stream with great difficulty we stopped for some snacks. The guide had carried several chocolates that gave us some energy. On we went like soldiers through thick and thin and we came to a spot, that no matter how well I describe I cannot do justice in explaining what I saw. Nevertheless I’ll do my best. The three of us were walking along a small snow filled track. To my left was a huge mountain covered in snow over which the full moon rose. To my right below was a semi partially frozen stream. More to the right was another chain of mountains filled with snow. Ahead of us, there was a huge mountain which looked like the pyramid of Giza with a star right above the pyramid. I could not take my eyes around what I saw and thus lost my footing and fell down. By now all my strength had been worn out and I was hoping that we reached Rumbak soon. I looked at the path a kilometre ahead and saw no sign of the homestay and every time I asked Dorjay ‘how far?’ he used to say ‘aur thoda’ which means a little more ahead. Finally after two and a half hours we could see a small settlement at the far end of the path, clearly another half an hours trek. Due to the low oxygen levels, Keerthan and I were stopping after every ten to fifteen steps to catch our breath. We finally reached the homestay at around 10.30pm where an old man pointed to our room and had already started a bonfire inside it. We had almost frozen to death and another half hour of the trek I probably would have. We had been battered and bruised by the Himalayan terrain and climate but we made it out alive. We were given hot tea immediately to warm ourselves. A very huge lady, who certainly was the lady of the house, came in chanting ‘Juley Juley’ which meant ‘welcome, welcome’ and we were treated to dinner. The food that we ate was rice with dal. We were starving and we could not have asked for more. Our chests were pounding due to the low levels of oxygen, so much that we used to take a breather after every two mouths of food. Dorjay then told us that it was the first time in twenty years of his service in the national park that he did a night trek and this helped Keerthan and I to absorb the gravity of the feat that we had just accomplished. After a good nights’ meal, we opened our sleeping bags and laid ourselves to rest for the night. I was so tired that I could not spare a thought for the snow leopards and within no time I had passed out due to exhaustion. 

              Rumbak valley.

The next day we woke up to the beauty of the Rumbak valley. We were so exhausted from last nights’ trek that we decided not to venture too far from the valley and trekked for about two kilometres in the morning. On that trek we were relishing in the beauty of the landscape, walking in knee deep snow and covered by snow peaked mountains. We saw a golden eagle perched high on a rock, a dot to the naked eye. On our way back we saw two blue sheep grazing on the mountain top. We were treated to a good heavy lunch with rice, dal, potatoes and chapatti. On our evening trek we saw a huge yak pass by the valley. While walking back I saw something run real fast into a bush. It was quite small in stature but really fast for its size. I got Dorjay’s attention and pointed in the direction of the animal. As soon as Dorjay went close to the bush, the little guy came bursting out and ran for the valley. It was a woolly hare. Dorjay ran with my camera and got some pictures before the runt escaped into the valley. When we came back to room we were treated to hot chai and veg momo’s for dinner before finally going to sleep.

The next day we planned to leave early and get to a homestay near Jinjiang as it would be easy for the taxi to pick us up the day after as we plan to head back to Leh. We had sent all our luggage’s by the donkeys to jinjiang and we planned to trek from Rumbak to Jinjiang. On our way, we planned to scan the Tarbung valley where we first saw the two snow leopards and before that scan another valley called the Husing valley.

Day 3 and by now Keerthan lost all hope of spotting another snow leopard as his heart was content with the two snow leopards on the first day. It also became quite apparent that without the aid of a spotting scope it’s impossible to spot anything in the valley and since the three of us had no spotting scope, the hope of seeing another snow leopard vanished. But I was confident of seeing a snow leopard that day. I had a very strong gut feeling that we were going to see a snow leopard. That morning before we left Rumbak, Dorjay was filling his diary and in it he made a mention of seeing snow leopards on the 24^th with Keerthan and I. I was very spontaneous in telling him to make another entry in his dairy, stating ‘two snow leopards spotted on the 26^th of February’. The trek hadn’t even begun and without a spotting scope in our hands, Dorjay thought I was crazy. But I was very adamant. Keerthan was not sure what to make of my little outburst but he said; “buddy as long as your instincts tell you something, I believe in it”. But I must add I didn’t find him as optimistic as he was on the first day.

Day 3 would be our last day in Hemis as we would drive to Leh from Jinjian during the wee hours of day 4, so the three of us left Rumbak bidding a final farewell to the wonderful owners of the homestay. Going back was very easy and fast as most of the way was downhill. It was the same path that we took during the night trek. Before we knew it we were at the junction between Husing valley and Tarbung valley. On the side of the Husing valley I found a familiar face looking through the spotting scope. It’s the very kind and old gentleman who first lent me his spotting scope when I first saw the snow leopards. I gave him my greetings and carried on. Dorjay was of the opinion that we first scan the Husing valley before going to Tarbung valley as the mating pair at Tarbung valley had not been seen the day before. On our way to Husing valley I stopped at a spot where the snow leopard had urinated, thus marking his\her territory. I took a sniff to see what snow leopards urine would smell like and it was very pungent for my taste. I soon came across a very old gentleman gasping for breathe on a rock nearby. I asked him, where you from sir? And he said he’s from England, gasping for breath again. He told us that he was too old for these treks and when I enquired about his age, 80 he said. He didn’t look a day older than 50. I was amazed at his fitness. Pretty soon Dorjay received a message over his walky-talky. “SNOW LEOPARD spotted at Husing valley”. Keerthan exclaimed, Harsha your instincts were right. I asked him to hold his applause until we saw the leopard. Dorjay and I dropped our bags and ran like the wind, jumping over rocks and up the mountain we went. Keerthan’s fitness would allow him to walk everywhere we went but not run on a mountain. So I asked him to take his time. Within no time Dorjay and I were up in the mountain in Husing valley. The handsome Dutch gentlemen who gave me his spotting scope to see the two snow leopards for a long time was up on the mountain waiting for us. He told us that there were two leopards, a mother and her cub. I was ecstatic as I was within moments of seeing a snow leopard cub. The snow leopard had taken shelter behind a rock high up in the mountain. The search through the spotting scopes began. Within moments there were 30 people with spotting scopes. High up in the mountains there was a ‘V’ shaped rock behind which the mother and the cub were taking shelter. The mother would lift her head between the ‘V’ and look at us and get back to hiding. She could only be seen through the spotting scope. There were five other guides along with the group of 30 people. The guides soon realised that the group was making too much noise for the leopard to come out. So we were all asked to come down. Seconds before that, the mother came through the ‘V’ shaped rock and everyone began to look through the spotting scope. I got a glimpse of her before being pushed off by Keerthan and the group. The mother snow leopard soon disappeared behind the ‘V’. Now the guides instructed all of us to walk down to a lower ledge on the same mountain and remain quite. The tactic worked. Soon the mother snow leopard appeared and lay down to bask in the sun in front of the ‘V’ shaped rock but there was no sign of the cub. Everyone was out with their spotting scopes and looking except Dorjay, Keerthan and I. The kind Dutch gentleman called us and said, look through my spotting scope and we did. It was a Swarovski spotting scope, the best among the rest and we had the best view of her. 30 minutes into the sighting everyone got bored as the mother snow leopard was sleeping and there was no sign of the cub. Now there were fifteen to twenty spotting scopes to choose from. For about an hour I didn’t take my eyes of the snow leopard. Straining my back, I knew I might never get another chance like this to see the snow leopard. We didn’t have our lunch with us as Dorjay and I left our bags at the bottom of the mountain. The rest of the groups had porters bringing them food. Each one of us was tired and craving for food except for me. I couldn’t take my eyes of the snow leopard. I wanted to observe the behaviour of the snow leopard as very little of it has been documented. I told myself that’s more important than food right now. The ten minutes of eating could be done at a later time but looking at the snow leopard was all that matters as I know I would never get to look at her again. No one seemed interested in her unless she ran or hunted. Meanwhile I was constantly observing her for an hour and a half now. She would get up, lick her paw, her belly, look at the blue sheep on the other mountain and lie down again. I wanted to observe how many times she licks her paws; does she follow the same pattern every time while grooming herself? There is no sign of the cub for one and a half hours now. What if the cub comes now? Will she groom the cub as well? After a while the cub came and lied down next to the mother. Most of the people didn’t get to see the cub as they were busy gossiping amongst themselves. No, not even Keerthan as he was busy engaged in a feeding frenzy. He called me for quite some time to eat the lunch that the group shared with him as our lunch was not with us, had I gone to eat I would have missed seeing the cub. I would forever sacrifice that lunch to get a glimpse of the cub. I did see the cub for two seconds and that was all I could ask for. The cub was very small, about the size of a Labrador pup. The cub’s coat was thick and darker than the mother’s coat. The colour of the cub’s coat was brownish white with dark rosettes. After seeing the cub I had two spoon fills of rice from Keerthan’s plate and was back to observing the Snow leopard. By this time the cub was sleeping next to the mother and out of sight from the spotting scope. That was the last of the cub that anyone got to see for that day.

                                 The snow leopard as she climbs the mountain.

Soon everyone’s attention was drawn to another mountain when someone spotted a Pika. A Pika is a small brown coloured rabbit like creature and it took quite some time for everyone to spot the Pika due to its dark brown coat that made it easy for the Pika to camouflage with the rocks in the background. Finally the mother snow leopard got up and disappeared behind the mountains for good. We trekked down that mountain for the last time and bid adieu to the entire group and thanked everyone for sharing their food and spotting scopes with us. While walking back I did see the 80 year old man among the group. This is a very big and tough mountain to climb which took Dorjay and me 30 minutes to climb at full sprint and the 80 year old man had made it. I went up to the man and congratulated him on his fitness. On our way back we did see two Griffons soaring high up above the mountains. While on our way back to Jinjiang, I looked at Dorjay and told him “you should have listened to me when I asked you to enter the sighting of snow leopards in your diary earlier this morning, my gut feelings are never wrong”. When we reached Jinjiang I could finally exclaim with a deafening roar ‘4 SNOW LEOPARDS IN 3 DAYS!!!!!’