Author: sln_g5rd8x

Mongolian officials hold snow leopard conservation seminar

A seminar was held last month by the Mongolian Ministry for Nature, Environment and Green Development. If any SLN member who attended would like to give a report in the next News Update,  that would be very informative. Full text of news story follows:

Source: http://www.china.org.cn/environment/2013-06/07/content_29055914.htm

Mongolia probes ways to protect snow leopards

 June 7, 2013

The Mongolian Ministry for Nature, Environment and Green Development held a seminar Thursday to discuss ways to further strengthen snow leopard conservation.

More than 30 experts, scholars and officials from Mongolia’s environmental protection departments, the World Environment Foundation, the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation and other institutes discussed conservation measures and shared experience from other countries.

Experts said that, due to habitat loss, poaching, conflicts with humans and other reasons in recent years, the snow leopard had been listed as endangered species.

Snow leopards are targeted by hunters for its beautiful fur. Mongolia’s southern Gobi region is implementing a project to protect the species. Snow Leopard is mainly distributed in China’s Xinjiang region, Mongolia and other countries in the Central Asia plateau.

Bhutanese Film Student Sends Message to Herders through Film

A Bhutanese film student, Tenzin Phuntsho, is working on a snow leopard conservation video to reach nomadic herders. Full text of article as follows:

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/snow-leopards-become-video-stars-in-students-plan-to-save-them-20130602-2njqv.html

Snow leopards become video stars in student’s plan to  save them

Humans are the biggest threat to the endangered snow leopard but a former  park ranger from Bhutan hopes to mitigate that threat, thanks to Australian  help.

The soft-furred, snowy cats do not live in Australia, except in places like  the National Zoo in Canberra, which is home to two of them, named Bhutan and  Shiva.

They are found in the wild in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan,  China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan,  Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Researchers and conservationists believe there are  between 3000 and 6000  left in the wild.

But former park ranger Tenzin Phuntsho, who volunteers at the zoo while  studying filmmaking in Canberra on an Australian government scholarship, said he  is working on a plan to help conserve the small cats, who have big feet for  walking on snow.

”It is so beautiful,” Mr Phuntsho said of the animal.

He hopes to use his training to educate people in Bhutan about the need to  preserve the elusive cat.

There is a 95 per cent illiteracy rate among the nomadic population so he  believes video will get the message across.

Until recently the cats had been thriving in Bhutan, where the cultural  philosophy is that all life forms are connected.

Leopards eating domestic stock had been considered a part of life, and even  if one killed a yak, there would be no retaliation, Mr Phuntsho said.

But more people are moving into the alpine areas of the Himalayas and since  yaks are a trapping of wealth there are a lot more about for leopards to  eat.

Yaks are less agile than other local wildlife and easier prey for the  leopard.

”I am a bit afraid now because … people are changing and snow leopards are  becoming more of a threat,” Mr Phuntsho said.

People are becoming more aggressive: ”I fear they might retaliate one  day.”

The National Zoo also has a volunteer team that helps wildlife charities  around the world, including the global Snow Leopard Trust.

The trust’s website says that over the past 16 years snow leopard numbers  have declined by about 20 per cent due to habitat and prey base loss, as well as  poaching and persecution. Losses to poaching were most severe in the former  Russian republics during the 1990s and have declined.

But an illegal trade continues as demand for body parts from China is  growing.

AAP

 

Study Says Climate Change May Trigger Habitat Loss for Snow Leopard

Source: Headline Himalaya

A study titled “Conservation and Climate Change: Assessing the Vulnerability of Snow Leopard Habitat to Tree Line Shift in the Himalaya” has indicated that of the estimated 270,000 km2 of Snow Leopard habitat in the Himalayan region, about 30% may be lost due to tree line shrinking and shifting of the alpine zone. The study highlights that in the case of IPCC greenhouse gas high emissions scenario, Bhutan and Nepal may lose snow leopard habitat by about 55% and  40% respectively whereas the loss has been estimated to be 25% in India and China.

June 2012
Biological Conservation, Volume 150, Issue 1, Pages 129-135

Snow Leopard Reemerges in Chitral Forest

Thanks to Headline Himalaya for alerting us to this story:

Source: http://dawn.com/2012/01/27/snow-leopard-reemerges-in-chitral-forests-2/

CHITRAL, Jan 26: Snow leopard was spotted in the forests near Bakamak and Shali villages in Chitral district on Wednesday and Thursday after long disappearance.

An official of the local wildlife department told Dawn on Thursday that the big cat appeared near Bakamak and Shali areas but heavy snowfall forced it into moving to Toshi game reserve at lower altitude.

He said snow leopard hadn’t been seen in the area over the last two years amidst fears about its extinction.

People thronged the Garam Chashma Road to catch a glimpse of the leopard.

The wildlife department official said the big cat descended to the areas of low altitudes in search of food after heavy snow in forests and high mountains and that small animals, including markhor and ibex, were its cherished food.

People fear attacks on them and their livestock by the big cat, especially at nighttime.

Ejaz Ahmad, a biodiversity specialist, said snow leopard lived in areas alongside Hindu Kush range of mountains.

He said leopard was declared an endangered specie in the recent past but its population density later surged satisfactorily.

Mr Ejaz said massive grazing in alpine rangeland, human conflicts, climatic change and decline in snowfall had led to reduction in the number of leopards. He said WWF had launched a snow leopard welfare project in some Chitral villages.

Meanwhile, Dinar Shah, in his eighties and from Seen village, said previously, people used to guard their families and livestock at nighttime but installation of bulbs around the village had curtailed leopard attacks.

He said leopard’s attacks on people were very rare as it targeted livestock, especially goats, only. He said the former Chitral rulers banned leopard killing but lifted the ban in view of growing cases of its attacks on livestock.

Some regretted that leopard was poached in the area for skin, which had a great demand in national and international market, without let or hindrance. They demanded registration of cases against leopards.

Kazakh Activists Protest Ski Resort to be Built in Snow Leopard Habitat

Source: http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2005649&c=setreg&region=2
Author: Valere Tjolle

Mass mountain protest against mega ski resort in rare snow leopard territory – Letter sent to President signed by 7,000 campaigners gets snubbed, so “Flesh Mob” take to the snowy peaks to protest.

The central part of the National Park – Kok-Zhailyau gorge – is planned to become a place for a new huge ski resort and real estate development.

The National Park is above the Big Almaty Lake – home to a number of globally and locally endangered species which are listed in Kazakhstan’s  Red Book of endangered species.

Plans for the construction encompass a huge swathe of land up to the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which is the prime habitat of the extremely rare snow leopard, Turkestan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus), Ibis bill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii), Tetraogallus himalayensis, Menzbier’s Marmot (Marmota menzbieri) and others.

Say the campaigners “The ski resort is only a disguise for the actual plan, which is to build private luxury houses, hotels and a golf-course in the very heart of the National Park. The Almaty Mayor’s Office and private business interests are lobbying the legislature to make amendments to laws and regulations so that they could not be accused in breaking the law and reach their goals”

“Our deep concern about this is that not only the integrity of the National Park will be destroyed but the ecology of the city of Almaty, adjacent to the National Park, will be dealt a deadly blow as well.”

“Currently Almaty is rated as number 4 in the list of the most polluted cities in the world by Newsweek. The city gets most of its fresh air and water from the “disputed” part of the National Park.”

“More then 7000 people signed an open letter to president Nazarbayev against this plan, but there has been no answer, and the city government continues to push the plans..”

In 2002 the Park was included into the tentative list of objects in Kazakhstan to be nominated for the status of UNESCO World Heritage (http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1681/).

Snow Leopard In Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary

January 2013: Presenting the first-ever evidence of the snow leopard Panthera unica in Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh, a recently-published paper has recommended further studies to help generate baseline information for conservation of this endangered species.

The snow leopard in Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary was sighted dragging its kill (a young ibex) by researchers – Neeraj Mahar and Sajid Idrisi – during a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) survey in 2010 to help the Forest Department prepare an inventory of the area’s wildlife. It was recorded at an altitude of 3,376 m.

“While this opportunistic sighting by our team established snow leopard presence in Kugti, it raised a number of questions. Is Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary and nearby protected areas a snow leopard habitat? Or do they follow the prey to lower altitudes during winter, possibly from Lahaul or other nearby areas? This can only be verified with further focused studies,” said Dr. Rahul Kaul, Chief Ecologist, WTI, one of the authors of the paper.

Very little specific information exists on the distribution of snow leopards in India. Rough estimates put the population at 400-600 along the Himalayan region in India, and about 4080-6590 across the world (12 countries where it is found). Five Indian states, three in the western Himalayan region – Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and two in the north-eastern region – Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, are known to host snow leopards in the country.

“Snow leopards inhabit the non-forested zone above the tree line – around 3,200 metres in the western Himalayas and around 4,200 metres in the eastern Himalayas, going over the Greater Himalayan crest into the Trans Himalayan region,” explained Dr. Yash Veer Bhatnagar of the Snow Leopard Trust and Nature Conservation Foundation, adding that the common leopards are ‘replaced’ by snow leopards in these areas.

The snow leopard is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is classified as ‘Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List. Yet, as other carnivores in India, it is threatened due to conflicts with people, retaliatory attacks, prey depletion due to competition with livestock and hunting, poaching, and unplanned development in their habitat.

Source: http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/conservation/news/9171-snow-leopard-in-kugti-wildlife-sanctuary

Snow Leopard populations in decline due to illegal trade

The trading of big cat pelts is nothing new, but recent demand for snow leopard pelts and taxidermy mounts has added a new commodity to the illegal trade in wildlife products, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Traditionally, the market for large cat products has centered around tiger bones and parts for traditional Chinese medicine. Snow leopards (Uncia uncia), however, are a novel trend in the illegal wildlife trade arena and skins and taxidermy mounts are the most recent fad in luxury home décor.

The EIA, a UK-based non-profit organization whose mission is to investigate crimes to the environment, are concerned that attention to the plight of snow leopards is compromised because of the global conservation focus on tigers. While tiger poaching is a rampant threat, the EIA estimates that for every tiger poached, approximately six leopards are taken, including snow leopards.

Experts have estimated that there are between 4,000 and 6,000 snow leopards left in the wild, making them one of Asia’s most endangered mammals. This estimate was calculated several years ago, however, and it is believed that the number today is significantly lower.

Results of EIA investigations reveal that the majority of snow leopard pelts are being harvested in China, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Beginning in 2005, open trade in large cat products has declined and most of the illegal transactions in large cat trading is done in secret, making it difficult to monitor. Investigators from the EIA have documented hundreds of sales in illegal cat parts, but this detection success may be marginal compared to the actual trade.

“The skins uncovered by our investigators are just the tip of the iceberg,” says Debbie Banks, the head of EIA’s Tiger Campaign.

International Customs agents approximate the detected amount of illegal trade to be merely a tenth of the actual rate, meaning over 1,000 snow leopards have been killed and traded in the past dozen years or approximately a fifth of the estimated wild population of snow leopards on the planet. This means more than just a decline in leopard populations.

“Snow leopards are valuable indicators of environmental health,” says Tariq Aziz, leader the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Himalayas Initiative. “…their declining numbers is a sign that the places they live are also threatened.”

While novel trends in the luxury home décor market have been driving a recent increase in the trading of snow leopard skins, populations of snow leopards have been in jeopardy for quite some time. Unusual for most endangered species, habitat degradation is not the main issue for declining populations of snow leopards. These cold-hardy cats inhabit frigid, rugged, high-elevation environments that are inhospitable to most human development. In addition to poaching, the two gravest threats to wild snow leopards are a decline in their native prey and direct killing by ranchers and herders.

In recent years, snow leopards have been under threat as increased grazing has eliminated the cat’s natural prey. Facing less food, some snow leopards have turned to prey on domestic animals, which makes them targets for livestock owners. While many snow leopard killings are not motivated for sale in the illegal wildlife trade, inevitably, that is where they end up. A herder who kills a leopard eliminates a threat to his flock and may also earn a payout for his kill. The typical price paid for a snow leopard pelt varies by region and purpose: some pelts are sold locally for a mere few dollars while others, sold to tourists and foreigners, go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Snow leopards are elusive; they are stealthy, well-camouflaged, and not commonly encountered in the wild. While their geographic distribution encompasses a wide area, their distribution is patchy and they are not common throughout their range. Snow leopards are a handsome cat with a thick, white, rosette-studded coat, which makes their pelts such a luxury item.

According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), “range states,” or countries where snow leopards are distributed, are obligated to report on the status of illegal trade operations in endangered species. Currently, not a single country of the 11 has submitted a report. There is an urgent need for information regarding illegal trade in snow leopard parts. The EIA states that snow leopard conservators (like CITES) are in need of more specific information, including: “…the number of leopards poached and entering the trade…number of cases currently being investigated…sentences posed against successful convictions, and trans-boundary issues affecting trade.”

Without knowing how many animals are actually being trafficked and where exactly they are coming from, advocates like EIA can do little to help. While the future for snow leopards seems bleak, there is reason to be optimistic. Conservation organizations are spearheading projects and programs to curb the killing. In Mongolia the International Snow Leopard Trust has organized a community-based handicraft program to offer a market for local handmade goods in exchange for a commitment to conserve snow leopards. In India the Snow Leopard Conservancy has partnered with locals to capitalize on eco-tourism opportunities focused on snow leopard conservation and traditional cultural experiences for tourists. Other partners, like the Wildlife Conservation Society, are focusing on livestock protection and husbandry improvements to reduce the accessibility of stock to leopards and have piloted the first livestock predation insurance program in Afghanistan.

Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0103-santana-snow-leopards.html#qwSzjyiiVBJBsTvR.99