Tracks in the snow: Nepal field trip part 2

As I mentioned in part 1 of this series of posts, there was unseasonable snow at higher elevations during my trip to Nepal.  This made walking a bit treacherous and at night the temperatures dropped to below freezing.  However it did mean that we could see where animals had been moving about the landscape, including the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) which made the tracks in the image above.

Tracks from a total of seven different types of mammals were recorded, such as black bear:

And the pika, a member of the group that includes rabbits and hares:

No yetis, but some very yeti-like, moss covered trees:

There were some very tough flowers dealing with the snow, such as this Primula denticulata:

And what I think might be a gentian (Gentiana sp.):

Walking conditions were very challenging at times:

But the students really enjoyed it:

The dining rooms of the hostels in which we stayed were cosy:

And of course the landscapes were fabulous:

Part 3 to follow