Snow Leopard - Panthera uncia Conservation In compliance with CITES regulations, the snow leopard is legally protected from hunting and trade by national legislation in most of its states. Afghanistan has listed the species on its first ‘Protected List Species’ 2009, which bans the hunting and trade within Afghanistan. Many organisations h ave provided a framework for the development of national action plans, but many have not been adequately funded. The Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Conservancy are the world’s leading snow leopard conservation organisations. They have developed a multifaceted approach to their conservation, including research, educational initiatives, data storage, community based conservation and protectio n of livestock . This will end retributive killing of snow leopards. Another conservation idea that has recently been brought forward is to link fragmented snow leopard populations by habitat corridors. The International Snow Leopard Trust was established in 1981. Its main activities involv e the coordination of information management and conservation programmes. The trust concentr ates on working closely with the local people to conserve the leopard. They also maintain a database of protected areas. As there are only considerably small isolated populations left in the wild, it is essential for increased conservation measures to prevent extinction. In order to stop illegal trade and poaching threats, national legislation and conservation polici es must be strengthened, along with law enforcement capacity and international cooperation to enforc e trade bans in accordance to CITES (Theile, 2003). Legal status/protection Endangered Species Act (ESA): the snow leopard is listed as endangered . International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List : Listed as endangered. Snow leopards are suspected to have declined by at least 20% overthe past twogenerations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): The snow leopard is listed in Appendix I . It has made the transport of any snow leopard partsacross international borders illegal. Convention of Migratory Species: listed in appendix II. Protection of snow leopard from being hunted. The Great Cats and Rare Canids Act (GCRCA) : supports conservation prog rams , educa tiona l resou rces , incre ased moni torin g and law-enfor cemen t measures toprevent poaching and illegal trafficking . Altai-Sayan Ecoregio n Action Plan (ASEAP): targets the protection of the snow leopard and its primaryprey. National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (NPWCA) : Established by the Government o f Nepal. Issues fines and imprisonment of up to 15 years for poaching and the tradeof pelt and body parts. Fur trade and snow leopards The trade of snow leopard pelts is a contributing factor to their depletion. Their pelts are sold for fashion, to be commonly turned into coats, bags and hats. Around 1000 snow leopard pelts were traded every year in the 1920’s. The value of a skin in Kyrgy zstan is more than sixtytimes higher than the annual minimum wage. There has been an increa se in poaching incidentssince the break-upof the USSR, and pelts are still sold on the black-market in Eastern Europe, A sia and Russia. About the snow leopard . . . The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to the mountain ranges of central Asia (figure 1). Like other ‘big cats’, they are carnivorous, opportunistic predators. Their diet mainly consists of mountain sheep, goats, marmots, hares and large birds. However, habitat loss has resulted in the depletion of natural prey and occasionally, local livestock is take n. Their smoky grey coat prov ides a perfect camouflage against the snowy, rocky landscape, whic h aids them during hunting. They are capab le of killing prey up to three times their weight, and their short muscular legs allow them to leap up to 30 feet to catch their prey. The snow leopard is nocturnal. They are most active at dawn and dusk. Their lifespan is usually between 15 and 18 years, but they are known to live up to 20 years in captivity. There are between 600 and 700 snow leopards at present in zoos around the world. They are solitary animals, except when the females are raising their cubs. They has also been known to share hunting duties with its mate during breeding season. Litter size is usually two to three cubs, which remain dependent on their mothers for up to two years. Females reach sexual maturi ty between two and three years, and the mating season is between January and March. Cubs are born in spring to avoid harsh winte r cond ition s, and to ensur e the abundance of food. The gestation period is usually three months. Although the total range of the snow leopard covers a huge area, the cat is found in small fragmented locations with in each state. This, alon g with harsh weather conditions, high mountainous altitudes (2000-4000m), and dangerous rocky terrain has made it difficult to get acc urat e data about the rema ining wild popul atio n numb er. Howev er, the table 1 shows the estimated populations in the areas the snow leopard is still found (as predicted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature). The IUCN has also estimated the global snow leopard effective population size to be fewerthan 2 500. How can I help? •Raising awareness •Become a member of the Snow Leopard Trust •Donating money towards conservation work • Adopt a snow leopard • Volunteering your time To find out more, visit www.snowleopard.org Range Country Habitat Area (km 2 ) Estimated Population Afghanistan 50,000 100-200? Bhutan 15,000 10 0- 20 0? China 1,10 0,00 0 2,0 00-2 ,500 Indi a 75 ,0 00 20 0- 60 0 Kaza khst an 50,00 0 180 -200 Kyrgyz Republic 105,000 150-500 Mongo lia 101, 000 500-10 00 Nepal 30 ,0 00 30 0- 50 0 Pakis tan 80, 000 200-4 20 Ta jikis tan 100, 000 180 -220 Uzbekistan 10,000 20-50 MichelleChildBSc EnvironmentalResourceManagement Threats The decline in populati ons has been caused bya number of factors. The mo st significant threats have been caused by hunting the leopards for their fur , and habitat loss caused by global warming and the increase in farming activity in local towns and villages. Although the snow leopard is protect ed in most of the areas, local hunting and trapping still persists. The loss of habitat has resulted in a reduction in food availability. This along with the poorly constructed farm enclosures has led to the occasional livestock take. If a snow leopard is encountered on one of the farms, it is killed. Their bones are used in medicines in Asia, particularly in China. Lack of conservation capacity, policy and awarenes s is a main compo nent affecti ng the surv ival of the remainin g wild populations . Without continued and increased action by the world’s conservation organisations,snow leopards may face a very high risk of extinc tion in the near future. www.moggyblog.com/.../snow_leopard_family.jpg http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/ http://www.snowleo pardconservancy.o rg/kids/pix/sk innedlep.jpg http://www.iucnredlist.org/ www.snowleopard.org Table 1. Estimated remaining populations of snow leopards Fig 1. Map to show distribution of snow leopards