Dagina: Remembering our Snow Leopard Super Mum News January 16, 2025 Baby Steps The snow leopard cub nervously followed its mother over the ridge and down the rocky path on the other side. She stayed awkwardly close to her sibling, finding comfort there as the cold wind stung her eyes and bent her whiskers. It was her mother who stared straight into the strange object just off the path before moving on, whilst the cubs were too preoccupied with keeping up. It was August 2009, in the frigid mountains of Tost, Mongolia – and the little she-cub was Dagina, who was captured on a trail camera and shortly after, introduced to the world. Agnes and cubs. Image Credit: Snow Leopard Trust Destined for Greatness With a name that means ‘little princess’, perhaps Dagina was destined to become a celebrity. Ultimately, she became perhaps the most studied female snow leopard in history and certainly in the Snow Leopard Trust’s ongoing research programme. She even appeared on an episode of BBC’s Planet Earth 3. Yet, these wonderful moments were to become Dagina’s last sighting in the wild. But to us, here at DSWF, Dagina was extra special. She was our snow leopard ambassador and our very own super mum. But, as she has now not been seen or recorded anywhere within her usual ranges for the last two years, we, along with our Field Partners at Snow Leopard Trust, have concluded that Dagina has likely now passed on. Image Credit: Behzad Larry. A Study of Snow Leopards Dagina’s journey into adulthood was documented by numerous research cameras across the Tost mountains. And later, she was one of the first snow leopards of the programme to be fitted with a GPS collar. The ability to keep track of her led to brand new discoveries never before documented, such as average litter size and breeding intervals. Each new generation of cubs also provided insights into their survival rates and at what age they dispersed from their mothers. In fact, it was through the collaring of Agnes, Dagina’s mother, and then Presnel, Dagina’s daughter, that it was learned that these females showed tolerance of each other when they had litters – even occasionally sharing kills. Agnes was observed sharing a kill with Dagina and her first litter, and in turn, Dagina shared a kill with Presnel and her first litter. It was also possible to document how this overlapping of their lives led to Dagina ‘inheriting’ her mother’s original territory. This showed a much greater complexity and dynamicity to these relationships than was previously understood. Instead of coldly patrolling and defending territory borders at all costs, it became clear that being family meant something different to snow leopards and is now also being observed in other wild cats, such as pumas in South America. Image Credit: Snow Leopard Trust. Dagina therefore represented a rare research opportunity. Her entire life to date had been documented, from her appearance on that trail cam as a tiny cub to the reproductive milestones of her own first litter (born when she was just three in 2012) to her last in 2022, just as Dagina turned thirteen. The legacy of both Dagina and the importance of this study both lives on and continues, with an unprecedented four generations having now been fitted with GPS collars – Dagina, her mother, daughter (Presnel), and granddaughter. A Wild Life For some time, especially on the back of the filming of Planet Earth 3, where she and her last litter became unexpected stars, we and our Field Partners had been monitoring the trail cameras for new sightings of Dagina (she did not have a collar fitted at this time). Having reached the age of 13, Dagina had defied the odds and successfully brought five new generations of snow leopards into the world. Her long life also signified the success of the conservation work and community programmes made possible by DSWF’s funding and support. This meant Dagina was able to live with a reduced threat of human-wildlife conflict, within an area protected for snow leopards and with the full backing of indigenous communities. Dagina with three cubs. Image Credit: Snow Leopard Trust. Yet, Dagina’s life was never an easy one. She still had to face the greater threats of climate change and habitat loss, which in turn impacted the prey species she relied on for survival. And every hunt comes with the potential of injury, or even death, either from the defensive weaponry of her horned prey, or the mistake of a misstep on knife-edge terrain. Snow leopards are known as ‘the ghosts of the mountains’ specifically because of their elusive nature, nomadic lifestyle, and incredible ability to disappear into the background. They also often move to smaller territories as they age. So, in the first year of her absence, we hoped this would turn out to be the case. However, as the second year of her absence has now been reached, we are forced to accept that Dagina’s incredible, long life, has reached its natural conclusion. A Legacy That Lives On We are truly grateful for having been able to follow Dagina’s life journey, practically from birth, and to have had her as our snow leopard ambassador. If you are one of our many supporters who has enjoyed a snow leopard adoption with us, you will have been kept updated to the many chapters of her life over the years. And if you have an existing snow leopard adoption with us, please be assured that you are still contributing vital funding to her legacy and this amazing, ongoing, pioneering research which could not be done without you. Rather wonderfully, we can remember Dagina exactly for what she was – our super mum, whenever we choose, thanks to her being part of the Planet Earth III series. The link below shows her with her last litter of two cubs. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gvf85j And her legacy too was captured through this remarkable series, when Presnel and her three cubs were featured in episode 6 – Extremes. Our Field Partners, Snow Leopard Trust, described Dagina as not just a snow leopard, but a living testament to the power of resilience. Her five litters have no doubt been a key aspect in transforming Tost into a conservation area recognised as a snow leopard stronghold, and her wild spirit lives on in her surviving cubs and grandcubs. We have been privileged to have been part of Dagina’s life. We hope the love we had for her and the inspiration she gave us was equally felt by you, and that you’ll join us in celebrating our remarkable snow leopard super mum one final time. Image Credit: Snow Leopard Trust. Adopt Dagina’s legacy today, and help us continue to protect snow leopards in the wild Adopt in Dagina’s Memory Link copied