Once a trophy hunting concession, now a snow leopard sanctuary

Snow leopards are showing up on camera traps in places they'd never been seen before - thanks to an innovative programme in Kyrgyzstan.

Sometimes wildlife champions come as high as heads of state. Since taking office in 2011 the current president of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, has turned the former Soviet Republic into a centre point for snow leopard conservation and research. Perhaps the best symbol of Atambayev's commitment to snow leopards are recent camera trap photos showing the elusive, high-altitude predator roaming Shamshy Wildlife Reserve. Just two years ago, Shamshy was a concession for high-paying trophy hunters looking to bag an ibex. Today, it's protecting those prey animals that snow leopards depend on.

"We are certain about the presence of at least one, perhaps two snow leopards," Koustubh Sharma, the Senior Regional Ecologist at the Snow Leopard Trust, said. "The second snow leopard we are not sure about given a slightly blurry image."