You can see in Asa's eyes that things are a certain way now. I took the image four days ago and today our encounter was similar, there is an edge that when I close my eyes and think about it, it is hard to conjure up words it is that intense. Shortly after this moment Asa took a swipe and the alloy trekking pole I fended him off with snapped in half.
With ease...
After the attack I had to make sure Asa knew that I was still in control which I am. He understood.
I have now manufactured a sturdy wooden staff.
I do write about it and when you read the bloody book (you will buy wont you? I have to eat...) it will make sense in the overall context. There are many elements that I have given up trying to make sense of, often telling myself that rewilding a leopard in the Himalaya just is what it is.
At the moment my life has phases of complete isolation in the jungle combined with complicated discussions with locals about the issues here as well as those days when I drop onto major trekking trails to get to places I need to be. I've just had a couple of days on a main trekking route, a lot of it with a group of very nice people of different nationalities. Yesterday, on my return the issue of mountain safety was strongly apparent, again. I spent a lot of it helping people through tricky icy areas, they were under equipped, inexperienced and most unfortunately ill advised leading into the trek. This has to change and while it will be a progressive thing, it will change. Mountain knowledge is in many New Zealander's DNA and is part of the conservation framework because it has to be. Working through the challenges here in Nepal, alongside local conservationists is something I enjoy.
Back into Asa's territory and the isolation, until that moment the leopard appears, sometimes shooting down a tree, sometimes exploding through the undergrowth. Before our encounter today I used as much stealth as I could to position the food drop and cameras. It worked well and I then tracked Asa before giving the special call I sometimes use. It is more of a whisper but if the young leopard has not already sensed me this signal often works. As I've mentioned before the way we communicate and find each other is something that the wild has manufactured, it is simply our way.
The meeting was good. We were happy to see each other. I kept things short and Asa found the food quickly. I moved away, dropping into a gulley of deep snow. As he sometimes does Asa suddenly appeared, another short meeting, a type of goodbye, as I led him back to his food. There was another moment of tension as Asa did not want me within even fifty metres of the meat.
The leopard is telling me this is his place now, I am just a visitor.
In two days time I will continue the strategy as there is still the need to lead him deeper into the jungle, higher and up over the ridge. A recent email from a colleague regarding the latest developments in the illegal trade of leopard skins was still fresh in my mind as was the issue of illegal tree felling and milling.
Yeah, there's a lot of stuff going on, a lot to do. The thing is, the leopard is strong, we are getting through the winter and while outcomes are unknown, especially in a place like this, there is hope...
