Fresh tracks. New snow had meant the day revealing movement of Himalayan Black Bear, Civet, Barking Deer and Langur. It is the last one I am interested in. These monkeys will be active during the day. They prefer to huddle together and be warm at night, not be out in the dark with the cold and with predators. A leopard knows this. Don't ever believe that leopards are simply nocturnal, they are far too clever for that, they adapt.
Like many times before during the hunt Asa's senses seem to pick up at the same time my interest rises with the knowledge that prey is near by. There is every chance the alpha male of the primate troop is watching. Or maybe a scout. They will be ready to shatter the high mountain jungle silence with high pitched and grunting alarm calls. Asa moves ahead. His body language is serious, he has taken on the stance of deadly big cat. He is low to the ground, sniffing, eyes wide, muscles tight, ready to launch.
I have to be ruthless. There is no room for emotion up here. It's eat or die. It's the hunt and in winter the obstacles of snow and ice mean new strategies for both predator and prey. I have led the young leopard to this place, it's up to him now.
Asa explodes forward in a flurry of snow. All hell breaks loose...
These days are long. It can take me two more to recover from the physical effort of hours of climbing through thick wet jungle. It's a winter wonderland, beauty beyond compare. I think how it takes my breath away and that brings me to totally being in the moment as I become aware of my hard fast breathing in reality. Every step requires thought but it's a natural process born of many years in the mountains. There are many factors to take in and to them I must add my continual questioning mantra...what would a leopard do?
The strategies I am using are working. Using a series of food drops to keep Asa understanding his area combined with hunts so I can monitor his progress. He is doing well. Yesterday's panic in the monkey troop proved that. This leopard is marking his territory, he climbs high in trees to survey the landscape, his focus during the hunt is absolute.
There is still much to be done. I am using camera traps to understand prey movement and to alert to other predators. As part of the agreement with the local community I am keeping Asa working an area several kilometres from and high above human habitation. There is both support and nervousness about this rewilding attempt. People are happy to listen to me talk about the knowledge being gained but there are many issues surrounding the project, the logistics involved almost as energy taking as the physical effort.
Every time I encounter Asa I tick off more days that he has survived. The winter is still young and I have to approach the whole process with the realism that nature could play a harsh hand at any time. It's very much a day to day thing.
I'm going to be off the grid for a little while, there's so much to do. I'll keep posting images to www.mountaintiger.photography and you can be alerted to them by www.facebook.com/mountaintigerphotography, also sometimes www.twitter.com/jackkinross A big thank you to those who are purchasing. Somehow I will get new boots sent to me, many people have offered to help.
Asa is more interested in the business of surviving the winter than destroying my boots now. That's good because the many kilometres are hard on footwear anyway. I like my toes. I want to keep them.
Cheers Jack.
