To Save the Snow Leopard
Earlier this month, two herdsmen in northwest China’s Xinjiang region were sentenced to eight and 10 years in prison for killing a snow leopard. Authorities say the men had set a trap after wild animals had been preying on their sheep. When a snow leopard was trapped, they stoned it to death and gave its fur, bones and internal organs to others.
It’s a sad story all the way around — sad for the herdsmen, sad for the desperate animal they killed, and sad for the Chinese authorities who had to enforce drastic measures in an attempt to protect this beautiful and illusive creature that is teetering on the brink of extinction.
Several years ago, I tore a picture from a wildlife calendar and put the picture on my wall. It’s the only picture of an animal I’ve ever had on a wall of my home. The picture is of a snow leopard, and the picture is still there some ten years or so later. I see it whenever I look up from my computer. I love animals in general, but there’s something special about the snow leopard… something mystical, almost spiritual.
Another snow leopard was killed again recently, this time in Afghanistan. Time magazine is running an article on the story: To Save a Snow Leopard: A Special Afghanistan Mission:
In a valley high in the Wakhan Mountains of Afghanistan, a hunter several weeks ago waded through snowdrifts to check his traps and found that he had snared one of the rarest creatures alive: a snow leopard.
If a naturalist had seen the leopard, he or she would have focused on its snowy fur with black, half-moon markings and its white goatee. A naturalist would have known that it is a solitary, elusive creature, a night hunter that roams the icy Central Asian peaks far above human villages. A naturalist would have known that there are perhaps less than a thousand of them left on the planet. But the hunter who snared the snow leopard saw only a $50,000 price tag. That was the fee supposedly offered by a wealthy Pakistani businessman to any hunter in the Wakhan who could deliver a snow leopard — alive…
The feline was to become the object of a four-day rescue operation that involved NATO forces, the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, a royal prince and even Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The snow leopard does not have an easy time of it even in the best of circumstances. It inhabits one of the harshest and most remote environments on earth, living high in the rocky mountain ranges of Central Asia, between 3,000 and 5,500 meters (9,800 and 18,000 ft) above sea level. Their secretive nature means that their exact numbers are not known. It’s estimated that there are perhaps between 3,000 and 7,000 left in the wild.
Snow leopards are opportunist hunters. They will attack livestock that are in their home range; and this puts them in conflict with local farmers, often at the expense of their own lives. They are further endangered by poaching — illegal hunting for the fur trade, and trade in bones for traditional Asian medicine — as well as the usual loss of habitat, declining prey, etc.
The Snow Leopard Trust, the world’s leading authority on the study and protection of the snow leopard, works with governments in snow leopard countries to strengthen conservation policies and programs. More importantly, the Trust works with local communities and herders on reducing conflict between people and snow leopards. It helps them find ways of limiting livestock losses and offers them opportunities to increase their income. The Trust also markets handicrafts made by people in snow leopard habitat in return for a commitment to conservation. Celebrating 25 Years of Conservation Achievements
You too can help to save the snow leopard! by simply signing up for the Trust’s eNews. Right now, for every new eNews subscriber, the Kearsley Fund will donate $2 to help protect snow leopards. They need 2,500 new subscribers. (you can unsubscribe at any time)
The following video clips show rare footage of the rugged and perilous daily life of the wild snow leopard
Beyond the Myth Clip 1 — Beyond the Myth Clip 2 — Beyond the Myth BBC
EXTINCTION IS FOREVER
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