The Ghost of the Mountains

A story of discovery, conservation and adventure on the trail of one of the most elusive and mysterious predators, brought to life by the world-leading expert on snow leopards. Silent, solitary and beautiful, snow leopards inhabit the rugged mountains of central Asia, so perfectly camouflaged by their silver-grey pelts that they vanish against the rocks and the cliffs. The biologist and scientist Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi (or Kullu, as he is widely known) has spent twenty years studying these elusive creatures in the wild, exploring their daily challenges, habitat, prey and population, and developing a profound understanding of their lives - with every snow leopard encounter bringing renewed meaning and purpose. Living for months at a time in some of the most remote places on earth, Kullu has pioneered new research that shines fresh light on these charismatic and vulnerable animals, showing how their fate is entangled with the local people and how their survival is central to preserving an austere, delicate ecosystem, increasingly under threat from development and intensifying climate change. Full of groundbreaking science and exhilarating storytelling, The Ghost of the Mountains offers a window into a majestic and endangered world, and gives an intimate view of the snow leopard's precarious existence.