Out there, we celebrated the birth of a nephew,
We held a protest,
(In this case, right on the Russian border)
We tried to soothe the hearts of loved ones upset by our absence,
We passed exams,
In short, we were completely in nature.
And nature was in us…
And to avoid anyone ever finding us like this…
It was essential to keep teamworking, regardless of whether we actually had the capacity for it after weeks of living together.
Yet, despite these difficulties, there was something that made it all very easy…
No, it wasn’t what you see in the photo.
Instead, it was:
These windows in Abastumani forest,
This sea of clouds in Lagodekhi,
Time travels in Javakheti highlands,
The unworldliness of Arkhoti,
Sunlight drapes over the Atsunta ridge,
The exhibition of wonders at Takhti-Tepha,
The uniqueness of every single morning in Kazbegi,
Being left speechless in Vashlovani,
Winters of Khevsureti,
And Autumns of Tusheti,
And the fact that all this labor had a goal, which was sometimes exceptionally heavy
(80kg in this case).
And the main one: The Leopard. A feline known for its ability to hide. But thanks to everything I’ve just told you about, in 2021, our team caught it on camera in Georgia for the second time!
Back in 2003, when no one expected, tracks of a large feline were discovered in Vashlovani by NACRES. Soon, camera traps captured the first historic image (Image above by Nacres) of a young male Persian Leopard. He spent six years in Vashlovani before suddenly disappearing.
We launched numerous studies across the entire country to find traces of them again. It took immense effort and many years, but finally, in 2021, NACRES captured an image in Tusheti. A year later, another photo followed. Hope was rekindled that this impressive animal would return to Georgia.
Then, in 2025, another individual was captured on camera – this time in Algeti National Park.
I am very happy and very proud of the 12 years I spent at NACRES.
And I hope this story will have a continuation…
