Children will be swept up in the buoyant account of the journey through Mongolia led by Tom McCarthy, conservation director of the Snow Leopard Trust, in search of the elusive cat known as the "ghost of the mountain." He has devoted much of his life to studying these animals and persuading their human neighbors of the importance of their survival.
But kids will giggle about the central role of scat or, as Montgomery often writes, "poo," in the research of snow leopards' habits. It has an elegant layout featuring ornamental lettering, watermarks, and gorgeous photos were it not for the delightfully exuberant text, it would be a stately coffee table book. Grade 4–8-Reading this book is an extraordinary experience. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. With a dazzling, as-it-happens narrative and spectacular photographs, Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop bring Mongolia up close for readers everywhere. But that’s the only way the Snow Leopard Trust can protect their charges, before the snow leopard truly becomes nothing but a ghost of the mountain. It will take patience, focus-and yes, love-to dedicate a lifetime learning more about this little-understood creature. It will take practice and experience to lay humane leghold snares, collect scat samples, and set up motion-triggered cameras. It will take endurance and persistence to climb the dusty mountain trails, hope of a snow leopard sighting rising and falling with each new summit.
And it doesn’t stop Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop from packing their bags in order to join Tom on a trek to Mongolia, where they hope to learn more about this magical cat, a cat who doesn’t give up its secrets easily. Slinking along the Mongolian mountain ridges, the snow leopards are invisible-and almost impossible to study.īut that doesn’t deter scientist Tom McCarthy, Conservation Director of the Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, or his many colleagues from dedicating their lives’ work to the study and protection of this seldom-seen creature. A thick, long tail for balance helps snow leopards spring at their prey from great distances-prey that is often three times its own size. Beautiful spotted coats conceal these elusive cats in their rocky, high-altitude habitat-a place where temperatures are often cold enough to freeze human tears. People call it “The Ghost of the Mountain,” for those who live among snow leopards almost never see one.
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