Saving the Ghost of the Mountain by Sy Montgomery

'This contribution to the Scientists in the Field series seamlessly blends eloquent text and vivid images to spotlight the gentle tapir and those field scientists whose lives are committed to conserve animal species for the sake of our environment and our humanity.' A splendid addition to an exemplary series.' 'Chapters about the team's day-by-day experiences, written in a lively, first-person voice, include memorable detail.

'Profiles of scientists and ranchers, discussions of other animals of the Pantanal, Bishop's typically electric photography, and a few tense moments in the wild combine to create a full, fascinating picture of tapirs and one place they call home, as well as the work being done to protect them.'Īnd#8212 Publishers Weekly, starred review With a dazzling, as-it-happens narrative and spectacular photographs, Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop bring Mongolia up close for readers everywhere. But thatand#8217 s the only way the Snow Leopard Trust can protect their charges, before the snow leopard truly becomes nothing but a ghost of the mountain. It will take patience, focusand#151 and yes, loveand#151 to dedicate a lifetime learning more about this little-understood creature.

It will take practice and experience to lay humane leghold snares, collect scat samples, and set up motion-triggered cameras.

It will take endurance and persistence to climb the dusty mountain trails, hope of a snow leopard sighting rising and falling with each new summit.

And it doesnand#8217 t stop Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop from packing their bags in order to join Tom on a trek to Mongolia, where they hope to learn more about this magical cat, a cat who doesnand#8217 t give up its secrets easily. Slinking along the Mongolian mountain ridges, the snow leopards are invisibleand#151 and almost impossible to study.īut that doesnand#8217 t deter scientist Tom McCarthy, Conservation Director of the Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, or his many colleagues from dedicating their livesand#8217 work to the study and protection of this seldom-seen creature. A thick, long tail for balance helps snow leopards spring at their prey from great distancesand#151 prey that is often three times its own size. Beautiful spotted coats conceal these elusive cats in their rocky, high-altitude habitatand#151 a place where temperatures are often cold enough to freeze human tears. People call it and#147 The Ghost of the Mountain,and#8221 for those who live among snow leopards almost never see one.

Saving the Ghost of the Mountain by Sy Montgomery