Description

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.

Publisher Review

Marvellous – quite literally. A thrilling story of adventure amongst high mountains, deep mysteries, elusive animals and vertiginous facts — Charles Foster, author of The Edges of the World A brave, unique field-study of the most extraordinary cat on the planet — the Snow Leopard — elusive, Spartan and beautiful — Desmond Morris Enchanting. The author is a most amiable guide on the mountainside, and this deeply informed book gave me hope for the future of conservation — Sara Wheeler Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi has spent his adult life studying, following and trying to protect snow leopards. The Ghost of the Mountains takes readers into the field, high in the Himalayas. The story it tells is by turns beautiful, terrible, and encouraging — Elizabeth Kolbert What a thrilling and intrepid story. Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi takes us into the icy heights of the Himalaya, tracking the elusive snow leopard and bringing to life both this solitary animal and the threatened world it inhabits. Beautifully told, it’s a tale of beauty, drama and wild landscapes but also one of the entangled lives of snow leopards, their prey and the humans who share their terrain — Andrea Wulf The Ghost of the Mountains is a thrilling and engrossing adventure, written in passionate prose by one of the world’s foremost conservationists of the snow leopard. Kulbhushansingh’s deeply grounded praxis in the Himalayan landscape imbues his passages with a unique and strange power. Like the experienced mountaineer that he is, his writing too constantly straddles across the huge challenges of conservation, political complexity and community struggles in the mountains, and the haunting beauty of the snow leopard in its habitat. In that sense, for me, he surpasses Matthiessen — Yuvan Aves The narrative echoes with delight and wonder; Kullu’s pursuit of knowledge about snow leopards blends with his recounting of pursuing glimpses of these wondrous creatures. You should allow yourself to be swept along — Alexandra Horowitz Stunning prose and a gripping story, this book is a wonder. A totally fresh and authentic look at the Himalayas that will change how the mountains (and the snow leopard) are seen and understood — Ben Rawlence Setting out his fascinating field work and weaving elements of memoir and storytelling throughout, this book sheds thrilling light on these charismatic and vulnerable animals, making a compelling and urgent case for their conservation * The Bookseller *