Author: sln_g5rd8x

Mysterious and elusive snow leopard

Oct 8, 2010 13:09 Moscow Time
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/10/08/24792002.html

Scientists from the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences are currently looking at the snow leopard population in south-eastern Siberia. The snow leopard is on the Endangered Species List, with a worldwide population of six thousand species, around 150 of which live in Russia.

In August, during the first stage of the expedition, biologists together with local guides put out 48 camera points to identify the animals, because the pattern on the fur of each one is unique. These cameras were a novelty to the leopards, and they examined them on their mountainous paths, sniffing and rubbing their noses in them, thus unfortunately spoiling the majority of the shots. Sometimes a person spends a really long time waiting to encounter a snow leopard, climbs snow-capped mountains in vain, not suspecting that he himself is an object of study: the leopard is carefully watching him from a remote hiding spot. For a scientist to see this elusive creature is a great fortune, because it is an extremely cautious animal, says the head of the expedition Andrei Poyarkov.

I can honestly say that I have never seen a snow leopard in the wild. But both of our guides, who work at the Uvs Nuur Basin Natural Heritage Reserve, saw leopards this winter and took the first ever Russian photographs – not from stationary points but using hand-held cameras. The snow leopard is a true mountain dweller. He is extremely agile – he treads mountain paths very well and can climb great heights. He has a massive leap. His fur is fantastic – he is extremely well dressed because he lives in very harsh conditions with deep winter frosts. He is very lively and well coordinated. In the course of the current expedition, researchers hope to capture several species to mark them and collar them with radio transmitters. This will help to track their movement and behavior via satellites, says Andrey Poyarkov.

The programme is very vast. It includes several fields of research: migration, group kinship and the study of the specifics of the snow leopard’s molecular genetics. We will invite Mongolian researches to join studies and exchange samples. I hope that we will be able to develop a number of practical measures for improving the protection and well-being of the snow leopard population. This animal is a very valuable resource that is highly attractive for both eco-tourists and researchers, says Poyarkov.

The “Snow Leopard” programme is currently being overseen by the Russian Geographical Society along with other programmes for studying endangered species in Russia, including the Amur tiger, the white whale, the Far-Eastern leopard and the polar bear. The current expedition is just the start of a major scientific project. Locals, who consider the snow leopard to be the holy spirit of the mountains, will get involved. In the near future, a snow leopard museum will be set up in Siberia.

Link to video about the lithotripsy done on a snow leopard at Big Cat Rescue:

The International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS), together with the International Union of Biological Science (IUBS), will hold its 4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology (4th ISIZ) in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province, China, from 4-6 December, 2010. The theme of the symposium is Biological Consequences of Global Change (BCGC) – Data Analysis and Sharing.

Currently, Dr. Werner Arber, Nobel Laureate (1978); Dr. Giorgio Bernardi, IUBS President; Dr. Jean-Marc Jallon, ISZS President; Dr. Abraham Haim, ISZS Vice President and Dr. Nils Stenseth, an Executive member of both ISZS and IUBS have confirmed their attendance at the symposium.

The year 2010 is also the International Year of Biodiversity. To recognize this important designation, a special plenary session on biodiversity is planned for the first day of the symposium. In addition, there will be a special workshop for the ISZS international research program Biological Consequences of Global Change (BCGC) on the second day of the symposium, at which the lead scientists will discuss future research to be undertaken by the group and share their comments on the program.

Attached, please find a copy of the symposium invitation from Dr Zhibin Zhang, Chair of the Organizing Committee of the symposium and the tentative program schedule for your reference.

The BCGC program web page can be accessed at:
www.globalzoology.org/WhatWeDo/ResearchProgram.aspx

For the program progress report please visit:
http://www.globalzoology.org/uploads/File/Progress%20Report_July%202010.pdf

To download materials about the participating scientists in the program please
click:
http://www.globalzoology.org/uploads/File/Participating%20Scientists.pdf

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, it will be highly appreciated if you could replay this message to your colleagues and friends in your organization.

Kind Regards,

Han

For Dr. Zhibin Zhang
Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 4th ISIZ
———————-
Chunxu Han
Treasurer & Chief Program Officer
International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS) Room C506, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
1 Beichenxi Lu,
Chaoyang District,
Beijing 100101, P.R.China
Tel/Fax: 86-10-64807295
Email:iszs2@ioz.ac.cn; hanchunxu@sina.com www.globalzoology.org

Biological Consequences of Global Change
4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology
INVITATION

The International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS), together with the International Union of Biological Science (IUBS), will hold its 4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology (4th ISIZ) at the Kunming Hotel in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, China, from 4 to 6, December 2010. The theme of the symposium is Biological Consequences of Global Change – Data Analysis and Sharing.

In 2008, the ISZS launched the international research program Biological Consequences of Global Climate Change (BCGCC). In October 2009, the program was expanded and renamed Biological Consequences of Global Change (BCGC) and adopted by the IUBS as a new International Scientific Program at the 30th General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa. Currently, 13 well-known, established scientists from the USA, Australia, Norway, Chile, Russia, India and China have already joined or have expressed interest in joining the program.

Conducting any scientific program like BCGC, historical data play an extremely important role. However, most of the existing programs on global change are being conducted by scientists and laboratories scattered around the world without a clear mechanism for data collaboration and information sharing. As a result, the focus of the 4th ISIZ will be on how to collect and analyze data for global change research so that the scientists from around the world can work together to plot out a practical approach to establish a working mechanism for international data analysis and information sharing.

The topics at the 4th ISIZ will consist of:
 Global changes and biodiversity
 Global changes and species conservation
 Global changes and agricultural disaster
 Global changes and diseases
 Global changes and biological invasion
 Study on global change in botanical gardens
 Paleogeologic data and analysis
 Historical data collecting and analysis
 Biological specimen data collecting and analysis
 Analytical tools and methods

Currently, the 4th ISIZ Organizing Committee is seeking symposium organizers. If you are interested in organizing the above mentioned sub-symposia or want to suggest other topics to be included, please contact us as soon as possible. The new International Research Program, BCGC, will be prominently featured during the symposium. The ISZS is also seeking expressions of interest from researchers and sponsors for the BCGC program. If you or your institution is interested, please contact the ISZS before 31 October 2010.

In order to encourage the involvement of students in the scientific community, an ISZS Young Scientist Award will be presented at the symposium to support young scientists and graduate students under 35 years of age participating in the ISIZ. Five awardees will receive up to 2000 RMB each. See the Registration Form for application instructions.

On behalf of the 4th ISIZ Organizing Committee, I warmly invite you to attend the 4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology and encourage you to complete and return the registration form attached to this letter.

Yours sincerely,

Zhibin Zhang
Chair, 4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology
C-506 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
1 Beichenxi Lu, Beijing 100101, China
Tel : +86-10-64807295
Email: iszs@ioz.ac.cn

For Symposia: Dr. Wenhua Xiong (English and Chinese; inz@ioz.ac.cn)
Ms. Laurie Stahle (English; iszs@ioz.ac.cn)
Sponsorship and BCGC: Mr. Chunxu Han (English and Chinese; iszs2@ioz.ac.cn)
More Information: ISZS and 4th Symposium: www.globalzoology.org
IUBS and BCGC Program: www.iubs.org

Biological Consequences of Global Change
4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology

Scientific Committee

Chair:
Yiyu Chen, President, China Zoological Society; Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences; President, National Natural Science Foundation of China, China
Vice-Chair:
Giorgio Bernardi, President, International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS); Director, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Italy
Jean-Marc Jallon, President, International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS); Secretary General, IUBS; Director, Institut de Biologie Animale Intégraive et Céllulaire (IBAIC), France
Yongbiao Xue, President, China National Committee, IUBS; Director, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Member:
John Buckridge, Past-President, IUBS; President Emeritus, ISZS; Head of School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Australia
Bernard Cazelles, Professor of Bio-Mathematics, University Paris 6, France
Kung-Sik Chan, Professor of Biology and Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Iowa, USA
Edwin Cooper, Member of Executive Committee, ISZS; Professor, Laboratory of Comparative Neuroimmunology UCLA Los Angeles, USA
Yury Yu. Dgebuadze, Member of Executive Committee, IUBS; Deput-Director, the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Abraham Haim, Vice-President, ISZS; Professor, Faculty of Science and Science Education, University of Haifa, Israel
Juergen Heinze, Member of Executive Committee, ISZS; President of Central European Section of International Union for the Study of Social Insects; Full Professor (C4) at University of Regensburg, Germany
Motonori Hoshi, Past-President, IUBS; Professor of Biology, The Open University of Japan, Japan
John Jungck, Vice-President, IUBS; Mead Chair of Sciences, Beloit College, USA
Charles Krebs, Professor of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Kenneth M. Y. Leung, Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Mauricio Lima Arce, Professor Biology, Director, Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology & Biodiversity, Pontificia University, Chile
Valery Neronov, Deputy Chairman, Russian Committee for the UNESCO Program on Man and the Biosphere, Russia
Rosa-Maria Polymeni, Member of Executive Committee, ISZS; Professor, Section of Zoology and Marine Biology, Department of Biology, University of Athens, Greece
Francis Dov Por, President Emeritus, ISZS; Professor, Life Sciences Institute, The Hebrew University, Israel
Alain Roques, Director, Zoology Forestry, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, France
Hari C Sharma, Principal Scientist, Entomology, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Afrid Tropics, India
Boris Sheftel, Senior Scientist, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology & Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Grant Singleton, Senior Scientist and Coordinator, Irrigated Rice Research Consortium, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines
Nils Stenseth, Member, IUBS Executive Committee; Member, ISZS Executive Committees; Director, Centre for Ecological & Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology University of Oslo, Norway
David Wake, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California; Curator of Herpetology, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, USA

Organizing Committee

Chair:
Zhibin Zhang, Vice-President, IUBS; Vice-President, ISZS; Professor, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Director-General, Bureau of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, CAS, China
Vice-Chair:
Yury Yu. Dgebuadz, Member of Executive Committee, IUBS; Deputy Director, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Keping Ma, Vice-Chairman, China National Committee, IUBS; Executive Vice-President, Biodiversity Committee, CAS; Director, the Institute of Botany, CAS, China
Member:
Jin Chen, Director, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS, China
Shengming Du, Director-General, Department of Life Science, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), China
Nathalie Fomproix, Executive Director, IUBS
Song Ge, Deputy Secretary General, China National Committee, IUBS; Deputy Director, the Institute of Botany, CAS, China
Jianguo Han, Director-General, Bureau of International Cooperation, NSFC, China
Xiaoming Jin, Director-General, Department of International Cooperation, MOST, China
Yingnan Liang, Deputy Director General, Department of International Affairs, China Association fro Science and Technology (CAST), China
Yonglong Lu, Director-General, Bureau of International Cooperation, CAS, China
Anming Meng, Director, Institute of Zoology, CAS; Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Hua Shen, Vice President, Kunming Branch, CAS, China
Song Wang，Secretary General, China National Committee, IUBS, China
Fuwen Wei, Deputy Director, Institute of Zoology, CAS; Secretary General, China Zoological Society, China
Yan Xie, Secretary General, ISZS; Director, China Program, WCS; Associate Professor, Institute of Zoology, CAS, China
Yaping Zhang, Director, Kunming Institute of Zoology, CAS; Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Xianen Zhang, Director-General, Department of Basic Research, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), China
Xuefen Zhu, Deputy Director General, Department of Learned Societies Affairs, CAST, China

.

Biological Consequences of Global Change

4th International Symposium of Integrative Zoology

Registration Form

I will attend the Symposium. I will present a paper or poster (please circle) at the Symposium. The title of my presentation/poster is:

Cancellation Policy
For meeting registration, cancellations received on or before 31 October 2010 will be refunded in full, minus a $50 processing fee for attendees from high income countries and $25 for attendees from low income countries and students. No refunds of any kind will be given for cancellation occurring after 1 November 2010.

Registration Fee
□ ISZS members US$120 □ Non-members US$160
□ Accompanying attendees US$150 □ Students US$85

Payment Options
International funds transfer
Bank name: Industry and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Bank address: 55 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng District, Beijing, China, 100032
Bank account number: 0200004509088125063
Name of the bank account: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Swift code: ICBKCNBJBJM805
Bank telephone number: +86 10 6253 4349
Bank fax number: +86 10 6641 0055

Please notify Symposium Secretariat after your transfer: iszs@ioz.ac.cn or +86 10 6480 7295

ATTENDEE INFORMATION

Attendees may fill out the Attendee Information and Accommodation Information forms online at ioz2010.csp.escience.cn/dct/page/1 or fill them out by hand and return them to the ISZS office (contact information below).

ATTENDEE INFORMATION (Important in helping get visa)
Surname Given Name
Gender □ Male □ Female Date of birth (dd-mm-yy)
Organization
Passport number
Title
Address
Telephone number Fax number
E-mail
Accompanying Attendee
Surname Given Name
Gender □ Male □ Female Date of birth (dd-mm-yy)
Organization
Passport number
Title
Address
Telephone number Fax number
E-mail
DATES OF ATTENDENCE
Date of Arrival
Date of Departure
FUNDING SUPPORT
The ISZS is able to provide some funds to a few participants only. If you would like to apply, please include a current CV and cover letter justifying your need for financial support. The ISZS is more likely to fund participants involved in the BCGC research program.
Reduced registration fee Estimated cost: US$
I need funding for air tickets Departure city Estimated cost: US$
I need funding for hotel If successful, the ISZS will arrange for a room shared with another ISZS supported attendee for the nights of 3 to 5 December 2010 only.
ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION

ACCOMMODATION: Kunming Hotel (4-star)
Room Cost per night Arrival date Departure date No. of nights No. of rooms Total due
Twin-bed Suite US$50
King-bed Suite US$50
Executive Suite US$80
Executive Deluxe Plus US$120
All hotel fees are collected in RMB/Chinese Yuan (RMB: USD = 6.8: 1, rate changes) and paid on site. Rooms are guaranteed on a first-come basis until Friday 3 December 2010. If you want a specific hotel, please indicate here. We would like to provide the necessary help. Meals over the symposium will be provided by the ISZS.
Address:
Kunming Hotel
52 Dongfenglu, Kunming, Yunnan, 650051, P.R. China
Tel: 86-871-3162063; Fax: 86-871-3163784

Please return the above forms to the ISZS office in Beijing via email, fax or post. Online registration is also available at ioz2010.csp.escience.cn/dct/page/1.
• E-mail: iszs@ioz.ac.cn
• Fax: 86-010-64807295; Tel: 86-010-64807295
• Add: Room C-506, Institute of Zoology, CAS, 1 Beichenxi Lu, Beijing, 100101, P.R. China

How to apply for the “ISZS YOUNG SCIENTIST AWARD”
To encourage students to be more involved in scientific community, the ISZS young scientist award was established to provide financial support of up to 2000 RMB for five young scientists and/or graduate students to attend this symposium. Researchers under 35 years of age may apply. Those wishing to be considered must submit a manuscript (review, original article or essay) to Integrative Zoology no later than 1 October, 2010. Along with the manuscript, applicants must submit an application letter outlining their research goals and achievements and a recommendation letter from a superior. Submissions should be emailed to inz@ioz.ac.cn. The winner will be notified in mid-October and receive a certificate and financial award during the symposium.

Date:14/09/2010 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/yw/2010/09/14/stories/2010091450431200.htm
——————————————————————————–
WILD ENCOUNTER

Solitude of leopards

ROHINI RAMAKRISHNAN

The leopards have struck again, scream the headlines of the national newspapers. Week after week, there have been updates, of pilgrims being attacked and the wild animal being caught. What’s happening you wonder, why are these animals attacking humans all of a sudden?

But wildlife officials and researchers who analyse this man – leopard conflict, say that this problem is an ancient one. The leopard is one animal that has lived close to villages, croplands and sugarcane fields unlike man eaters. It slinks in and out of villages especially in rural areas, helping itself to the livestock, goats, pigs, and have a special liking for dogs. In the hamlets around Kodaikanal, villagers become alert when their goats and dogs go missing. They know there is a panther on the prowl!

There are villages in north India where the villagers know that this animal is best left alone. The villagers wisely say “Leave it alone, let it go its own way,” when they come across it and indeed they swear, that the animal will have a good look at you and continue on its way. But take a stick or throw a stone, it turns aggressive and attacks you. So, being on these roads during the dark hours is asking for trouble. The recent unfortunate attacks of the leopard in Tirupati show that the children who were attacked were with their family, climbing the hill in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark. This is the time when nocturnal animals like the panthers hold their own, for it is their world, their habitat.

The vicinity of the pilgrim centres is not clean, with food strewn all over the place. This attracts animals. The temple could maintain a litter-free zone. Keeping these special roads closed in the night for humans and the street lights switched off would help the wild animals to roam freely in their habitat.

Vidya Athreya of the Kaati Trust who is actively involved in the leopard issue, says that the leopard is not very different from the cat, but yes, it is wild. It has strong bonds with its family. The mother, though loving, is strict in her upbringing of the cubs. She teaches them to hunt and fend for themselves. But when the cubs are abandoned — if the mother is killed or caught — the cubs are left to fend for themselves, which is a traumatic experience for them. Some cannot survive on their own with their “training” being incomplete. At times this could be the reason that the animal goes to the villages looking for food as it is an easy way to get it, instead of the proper hunt.

All animals are our national wealth and they need to be protected and preserved. Let the leopard too be on the priority list.

Leopard cubs are extremely playful. A farmer friend once noticed that the young gooseberry trees were broken with snapped branches. Mystified, he kept watch and discovered that the leopard cubs “played” with the trees!

African leopard cubs spend a great deal of time in trees with their mother. They learn at an early age the climbing skills that help them survive as adults. Snow leopard cubs come prepared for the harsh weather of their natural habitat. The mother’s rich milk helps them generate the body heat and grow the body mass necessary to face the long winter ahead.

The Indian leopard ( Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard subspecies widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the four big cats found in India, apart from the Asiatic lion, the Bengal tiger and the snow leopard. Indian leopards are found all over India, in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and parts of Pakistan. They inhabit tropical rain forests, dry deciduous forests, temperate forests and northern coniferous forests. India’s Forest Department regularly sets up traps in potential conflict areas and releases the captured leopards in an appropriate habitat away from settlements.

Leopards may sometimes be confused with two other large spotted cats, the cheetah and the jaguar.

However, the patterns of spots in each are different. The leopard normally has rounder, smaller rosettes than those of the jaguar. The cheetah has simple spots, evenly spread; the jaguar has small spots inside the polygonal rosettes. The leopard is larger and much more muscular than the cheetah, but slightly smaller and more lightly built than the jaguar.

Photos:

V.V. Krishnan, Akhilesh

Kumar,

AP

© Copyright 2000 – 2009 The Hindu

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=51806

Environment: The vanishing wildlife
Air Marshal Ayaz A Khan (R)
A civilised country guarantees security of life and honour of its citizens, preserves its flora fauna and conserves its birds and animals by proper laws, education and public awareness. In our criminalized society no one is safe any more. Human beings are routinely gunned down without remorse. Birds especially partridges, bustards and quails are shot and netted indiscriminately out of season. And forest mafias have destroyed forests so recklessly that thick jungles have been turned into deserts. When the law and order degrades both humans and animals suffer. While thousands of men, women and children have been gunned down by terrorists and sectarian killers who have yet to be dealt with properly, country’s wildlife i.e. both birds and wild animals has been destroyed with a vengeance. VIPs hunt and kill precious and endangered leopards, black bears, Markhors, foxes, jackals, monkeys Chakors and Ramchakors and partridges with bloody relish. At the time of partition in August 1947 the deserts of Cholistan, the Thar and Thal had abundance of Neel cows, deer, bustards, partridges, while the Northern Areas were teeming with the wildlife. Even in the forests around Murree, Ayubia and Nathiagali wild fowls, Pheasants and leopards were occasionally sighted. Alas that is no more.

The colourful boards warning people not to kill leopards, monkeys, pheasants, Chakors and partridges on the roads of Abbottabad, Murree, Nathiagali and other tourist resorts are more for decoration and effect. No one cares that the endangered leopards, black bears and monkeys are being killed. The sight of hungry bears trapped from Ath Muqam and Lipa Valley in Azad Kashmir, and made to dance with “Nuqails” in their noses in the intense heat of Punjab does not evoke any sympathy or mercy. Thousands of baby monkeys trapped and shackled in steel chains for life, and made to mimic or ride on trucks only evokes derisive laughter. The Pakistani society and culture is to be blamed for the contempt in which animals are held. Educating the public to love animals and birds and protect the threatened and near extinct wildlife should be the priority of every citizen of Pakistan. The efforts of the wildlife departments to save animals from extinction is a challenge because of their limited resources and the negative attitude of the public towards conservation and protection efforts.

Leopards have been in the news recently, and it is time that the public is made aware of the importance of protecting one of the most beautiful animals of the wild. Due to reckless hunting there are only a few leopards left in Pakistan. Common Leopards have survived in very small numbers in the Doonga Gali forest of the Ayubia National Park. Starving and hungry they stray into villages, and towns in search of food during winter months. The sight of a leopard creates unexplained terror. Leopard is called the lion in the Galiat area. Because of the dread and the urge to kill, the common leopard has become a threatened species in Pakistan. A few years back a leopard had strayed into a house in Satellite Town Rawalpindi in search of food. The frightened inmates informed the local police. Policemen reached and shot the leopard dead. It was so heartless. The few leopards alive in the wild are a prized wealth of Pakistan, and resolute effort must be made to ensure that they survive.

Some time back someone presented two leopard cubs to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He reprimanded the gift giver and handed over the cubs to Islamabad zoo, because their mother could not be traced. Four years back in Nathiagali during the month of December, I was informed that eight leopards were regular visitors to the Governor’s House there. It was a cold winter evening when I reached the Governor’s House. I saw lots of pug marks and leopard droppings in the back lawn. Some droppings proved that the leopards had been praying on dogs and monkeys. Reportedly two mother leopards and their six cubs were living in the vicinity. Last year a leopard had entered my neighbours goat shed and had killed his goat. Dogs had mysteriously disappeared from Malach, Mochidara suburb of Nathiagali. Leopards are fond of dog meat. Leopards were sighted on Kooza Gali-Doongagali road and near PAF Base Kalabagh near Nathiagali. Long time back one base commander reportedly shot a leopard dead near PAF Base Kalabagh. There has never been a report during the last fifty years of a leopard attacking a human being. The leopard in its distinct black and white spotted skin is on the run from its most dangerous predator – the man.

Even the remote habitat of the snow leopards has been infiltrated into by blood thirsty humans. The report from Chitral that three snow leopards had killed a Markhor in the Toshi Game Reserve on the Garam Chasma Road proved that the animal has returned to Chitral. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department had claimed that seven snow leopards were seen together in the Chitral Gole National Park. The snow leopard lives on the Markhor. Abdul Nawaz Khan DFO Wildlife Cell Chitral told news reporters that “there could be forty snow leopards in Chitral now”. But this appears to be an exaggerated figure. DFO’s statement that foreign hunters could be given permits to kill the snow leopard must be challenged and objected to. According to World Wildlife Organization the snow leopard is a threatened animal, and the number of snow leopards alive could be counted on the fingers. There is no question of issue of permits to VIPs of foreign hunters to kill snow leopards in Chitral or elsewhere in Pakistan.

A reporter in Abbottabad has created commotion by his daily reports (March 14, 15 and 17) about the unfortunate young leopard who unaware of the plight awaiting him had strayed into thickly populated Malikpura locality of Abbottabad city on Sunday morning of March 14, 1999. This leopard after charging at two boys jumped into a house and entered into the bathroom. Abdul Aziz the owner quickly locked the door, and telephoned the police. The local police accompanied by a Magistrate, Conservator of Forests and officials of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department soon arrived at the house. But the officials had come without a cage or a tranquillizer gun. Later Secretary Forests was contacted in Peshawar for help. Few hours later a special team of Wildlife officers reached Abbottabad with a tranquillizer gun and other equipment to stun and cage the leopard. In the evening the leopard was stunned by a tranquillizer shot, and the officials took the wild cat into their custody. This leopard was an eighteen months old male. It had descended into Malikpurs from the nearby Shimla Hill. They had planned to free this leopard in the Ayubia National Park at Galliyat near Nathiagali.

Next day i.e. on Monday March 15, 1999 the leopard escaped from the custody of the Wildlife Department officials and disappeared. The local people blame the officials for inefficiency. They alleged that the tranquillizer was adulterated. It could have killed the leopard. The police fired at the escaping animal and injured it. But it managed to get away. Authorities are requested to look into the matter. Forest departments handout said that the leopard had escaped into the nearby ravines when the large number of people gathered around the animal started shouting. Dr Mumtaz Malik Conservator Wildlife Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, who has earned a good name as an animal lover, told reporters that the leopard was given two heavy dozes of tranquillizer through the injector gun and was successfully caged. He blamed the disorderly and noisy crowd that caused the leopard to panic, and escape. He said that, “The police fired upon the leopard to save the people.” But the general impression is that the police fired in panic and acted indecisively. It is unfortunate that police firing wounded the leopard. In the operation minor injuries were caused to a divisional forest officer (DFO) and to two children.

The Pakistani leopards have as much right to life as other inhabitants of Pakistan. To educate the readers, reproduced below is an extract from Encyclopedia Britanica: “The leopard formerly PARD (Leo pardus) also called Panther is a big cat closely related to the lion, tiger and other members of the cat family (Falidae). The name leopard was given to the cat now called Cheeta, which was believed to be a cross between lion and the pard. The term pard was eventually replaced by the name leopard. The leopard is found over nearly the whole of Africa south of the Sahara, in north east Africa, and from Asia minor, through central Asia, and Pakistan, Nepal, India to China and Manchuria. It varies greatly in size and markings. Its average size is: weight 50 to 90 Kg i.e. 110 to 200 pounds, length 84 inches, shoulder height 60 to 70 cm. Dark spots are generally arranged in rosettes over much of the body.

The leopard is a solitary animal of the bush and the forest, and is nocturnal in habit. It is an agile climber and frequently stores the remains of its kills in tree branches. It feeds upon any animal it can overpower i.e. from small rodents to water buck, medium sized goats, cattle, antelopes and deer. It has a special liking for dog as a food.” In Galiat it eats monkeys and in Africa Baboons as well. The female produces two to three cubs after a gestation period of three months. The calls of the leopard vary and include a series of harsh coughs, throaty growls, and deep purring sound. Leopard is a tree climber and good swimmer. Leopard spotting, viewing by binoculars photographing and feeding would be interesting and a good sport. Killing and gunning down this beautiful animal is criminal. The few leopards in Pakistan deserve attention, because their survival is threatened. The provincial governments are requested to enact legislation to save the leopard, the black bear and the monkey. Fines and jail terms are suggested for trappers and killers.

UNDP/GEF press release regarding the Argut camera trap press release:

“With support from the UNDP/GEF project, a seminar for local residents
took place in the Argut Valley village of Inegen on August 23-28,
2010. The seminar covered snow leopard monitoring using camera traps
and was conducted as part of the Foundation for Sustainable
Development of Altai’s “Development and promotion of the ‘Land of the
Snow Leopard’ transboundary ecotourism package as a mechanism for
involving local residents in Altai and Tuva in the protection of rare
species in the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion.”

Rodney Jackson of the Snow Leopard Conservancy (USA), a leading
international snow leopard expert was invited to serve as the
seminar’s instructor. During the training in Inegen, two local
residents already involved in snow leopard population counts in the
Argut River valley and Sergei Spitsyn, a rare species expert at
Altaisky Nature Reserve, were trained in the use of digital Reconyx
RapidFire and HyperFire cameras, as well as their implementation in
snow leopard habitat and techniques for conducting camera-trapping
population surveys for snow leopard.

The seminar took place in snow leopard habitat and concluded with the
installation of the first seven cameras along the main transit routes
of this rare predator. In October the number of camera traps,
purchased with support from Panthera Foundation and the Altai
Assistance Project, will be increased to twenty in the Argut Valley.
Over the next six months (October 2010-March 2011), a pilot monitoring
project of the Argut snow leopard population group will take place in
this region, thanks to support from UNDP/GEF, WWF, Panthera
Foundation, Altai Assistance Project, and The Altai Project.

The project will be implemented by local Inegen residents under the
leadership of experienced staff from Altaisky Nature Reserve. As a
result of the project, the development of a method for calculating
snow leopard populations in the Argut Basin is planned in order to
collect data for precise counts of this key Russian grouping of the
species. The active participation of local residents in this project
engages them in snow leopard protection as a part of their natural and
cultural heritage.

Another project goal is the development of a unique camera-trapping
ecotourism route in the Argut River valley as part of a transboundary
tourism route known as “Land of the Snow Leopard.” On this route
tourists can see not only unique landscapes along the Northern Chuisky
and Katunsky Ridges, but they can also photograph local fauna,
including the snow leopard, using camera traps. Local Inegen residents
will organize the entire tour as part of Irbis-Ecotour’s tourism
package, a project that has been underway in the Argut River valley
for two years with support from UNDP/GEF and WWF.

Finally, another planned aspect of this project is the establishment
of a Snow Leopard Museum, meant to contain both scientific information
about the species as well as the traditional knowledge of Altaian
peoples about this charismatic predator of the high mountains. The
museum will be a popular attraction not just for tourists traveling
along the route, but also for local residents interested in protecting
the snow leopard as a symbol of Altai.”

Jennifer Castner
The Altai Project

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Strengthening communities and protecting nature in Altai

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Снежного барса будут отслеживать с помощью фотоловушек
03 Сен, 2010 г. – 06:35
Официальные новости 23-28 августа 2010 г. при поддержке Проекта
ПРООН/ГЭФ в долине р. Аргут прошел семинар для местных жителей с.
Инегень по мониторингу снежного барса с помощью фотоловушек. Семинар
был проведен в рамках проекта Фонда устойчивого развития Алтая
“Разработка и продвижение на рынок трансграничного экотуристического
маршрута “Земля снежного барса” как механизм вовлечения местных
жителей Алтая и Тувы в охрану редких видов Алтае-Саянского
экорегиона”. В качестве инструктора семинара был приглашен один из
ведущих мировых экспертов по ирбису Родни Джексон, Snow Leopard
Conservancy, США.
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В ходе тренинга прошло обучение работе с автоматическими цифровыми
камерами Reconix RapidFire и HyperFire, принципам их установки в
местообитаниях ирбиса, основам организации учетных работ по снежному
барсу с помощью фотоловушек.
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Особенностям работы с фотоловушками были обучены два местных жителя
с. Инегень, постоянно принимающие участие в работах по учету
численности снежного барса в долине р. Аргут, и Сергей Спицын,
начальник охраны Алтайского заповедника, специалист по редким видам.
Семинар проходил непосредственно в местообитаниях ирбиса и
завершился установкой первых семи автоматических камер на основных
путях перемещения этого редкого хищника. Уже в октябре количество
фотоловушек в долине Аргута планируется довести до двадцати
(автоматические камеры приобретены при поддержке Panthera Foundation
и Altai Assistance Program).
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В дальнейшем, в течение шести месяцев, в период с октября 2010 г. по
март 2011 г. на этой территории будет вестись пилотный проект по
мониторингу Аргутской группировки снежного барса при поддержке
Проекта ПРООН/ГЭФ, WWF, Panthera Foundation, Altai Assistance
Program и Altai Project. Проект будет осуществляться местными
жителями с. Инегень под руководством опытных сотрудников Алтайского
заповедника. В результате проекта планируется отработать метод учета
численности ирбиса с помощью фотоловушек для природных условий
бассейна р. Аргут и получить данные для уточнения численности
ключевой группировки этого вида в России. Активное участие местных
жителей в настоящем проекте позволит вовлечь их в охрану снежного
барса как своего природного и культурного наследия.
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Другая цель проекта – разработка уникального экотуристического тура
с фотоловушками в долине р. Аргут, как части трансграничного
туристического маршрута “Земля снежного барса”. В ходе такого тура
туристы смогут полюбоваться не только уникальными ландшафтами Северо-
Чуйского и Катунского хребтов, но и сфотографировать представителей
фауны этой территории, включая и ирбиса, с помощью фотоловушек.
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Весь тур будет организован местными жителями с. Инегень в рамках
туристической программы “Ирбис-Экотур”, которая уже в течение двух
лет осуществляется в долине р. Аргут при поддержке Проекта ПРООН/ГЭФ
и WWF.
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Кроме того, в с. Инегень в рамках настоящего проекта планируется
организовать Музей снежного барса, который будет содержать как
научную информацию по экологии этого вида, так и традиционные знания
народов Алтая об этом харизматичном хищнике высокогорий. Музей будет
привлекательным объектом не только для туристов маршрута, но и для
местных жителей, заинтересованных в сохранении ирбиса как символа
Алтая.
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Пресс-служба Алтайского заповедника
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