"Earlier, men used to go and install the cameras, and we kept wondering why couldn't we do it too."
– Lobzang Yangchen, Leader of the Shen-Mo
In Production
In Production
25 min | English & Spiti Bhoti | Documentary Short
Shen-Mo
Shen-Mo
Director - Taira Malaney
25 min | English & Spiti Bhoti | Documentary Short
Director - Taira Malaney
In the remote village of Kibber, Lobzang Yangchen and Tanzin Dolkar lead the Shen-Mos,* an eleven-member all-women team conducting scientific snow leopard monitoring across some of India's most extreme terrain. Trained in camera trapping and long-term data collection, they spend the long winters tracking the species.
Beyond the physical danger of working at the extreme altitude, these women navigate the complicated politics of protecting an animal their neighbours still fear and resent. And stepping into scientific authority, in a place where women have historically been confined to domestic life, is its own form of risk.
*Locally, the snow leopard is known as Shen and the women call their group "Shenmo".
Shen-Mo is being developed in close collaboration with the Nature Conservation Foundation, which has worked in the Trans-Himalayan region for over two decades and holds a trusted, decades-long relationship with the Shen-Mos of Kibber. The film has now secured funding for the first shoot, which is set for October 2026.
