Faeces collection: Samples were collected in the Kyrgyzstan state reserve named Sarychat-Ertash during the 2016 summer. The problem related to this kind of sample, is that they contain cells from different animals :

                                                - Snow leopard bowel cell.

                                                - Any kind of cells from digested snow leopard prey.

                                                - Potential contamination during sample recovery.

   After experiencing intestinal transit cells are in a bad shape. After being  eliminated, the faeces are submitted to various kind of degradation from bacteria, insects, fungi or environmental condition that will affect the DNA quality within the cells. So the challenge is to collect faeces as fresh as possible so the DNA they contain is of good quality. Once collected, samples are kept in a sterilized tube at a temperature of -40°C to avoid any extra damages.