Sonam Choekyi Lama

In Nepal’s remote Dolpo region, two Indigenous women form an unlikely friendship to save one of the planet’s most mysterious and vulnerable wild cats: the snow leopard.

A pick-up truck driver leaves Kathmandu airport for a two-day drive with a delivery to a remote mountain village. On the high road, a solitary figure slowly makes his way, wheeling a small red suitcase toward the same village.

Disturbed by how herders trap and torture snow leopards by the herders, Tshiring, a young conservationist from Dolpo who researches snow leopards feels a sense of urgency to protect the last of these endangered big cats. She is convinced this can only happen if local communities are involved in protecting the animals—but also benefit from snow leopards. She takes on a challenging research expedition over three harsh winter months in an empty village to explore the possibility of organizing a snow leopard conservation trek that could help change locals’ perception about the need to protect snow leopards.