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SLN Member George Schaller Named Time Magazing “Hero of the Planet”

**NEWS RELEASE** CONTACT: STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org) JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)

Wildlife Conservation Society’s George Schaller Named “Hero of the Planet” by Time Magazine

NOVEMBER 13, 2007 – Renowned conservationist Dr. George Schaller of the Wildlife Conservation Society was recently named by Time Magazine as one of 60 “Heroes of the Planet.”  He joins an elite group of environmental champions, including former Vice President Al Gore and former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Time’s editor’s honored Dr. Schaller for his five-plus decades of work to protect some of the world’s most beloved wildlife, including pandas, tigers, gorillas, lions and many other species.  He is the Vice President of Science and Exploration for the Wildlife Conservation Society, the parent organization of the Bronx Zoo.

Dr. Schaller began his career in conservation in the mid 1950s in Alaska, culminating in wildlife surveys that led to the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  From there, he initiated the first-ever biological studies of mountain gorillas, paving the way for Dian Fossey’s crusade to protect these gentle giants.  Then Dr. Schaller went onto to conduct seminal wildlife studies of tigers in India, lions in the Serengeti, pandas in China, and snow leopards in Tibet.  He helped establish one of the world’s largest protected areas – the 115,000 square-mile Chang Tang Reserve in Tibet, created in 1993.

In recent years, Dr. Schaller has worked in the rugged trans-boundary region shared by Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and China.  There, he hopes to establish a new protected area to safeguard the spectacular and highly endangered Marco Polo sheep.

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The Wildlife Conservation Society – Since 1895, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked to save wildlife and wild lands around the globe. Today WCS has field staff at work in over 60 nations, protecting many of the last wild places left on our planet. To bring the mission home, the Bronx Zoo based WCS is distinguished as the only global conservation organization that also operates the world’s largest system of urban wildlife parks, educating more than 4 million zoo and aquarium visitors each year about the importance of wildlife conservation.

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Kim Murray Berger, Ph.D.
Wildlife Ecologist
Northern Rockies Field Office
Wildlife Conservation Society
205 Natural Sciences Bldg.
University of Montana
Missoula, MT  59812

tel: 406-549-8866
mobile: 208-351-2431
email: kberger@wcs.org

Police Crack Down on Illegal Animal Trade in London

Operation Charm, an effort to target the illegal trade in traditional Chinese medicines that contain ingredients derived from endangered species, is seeing results in London. Since its launch 10 years ago, it has seized more than 30,000 products that incorporate endangered animal parts. The Chinese population in London is supportive of this campaign and condemns the use of endangered species in medicines.

Earlier this month, a rare fur dealer in Camden Town, an area of North London, was found selling coats made from tiger, leopard, and snow leopard furs. He was taken into custody and released on bail.

For more information on the raid in Camden, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6112688.stm

For more information on Operation Charm, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6155244.stm and http://www.operationcharm.org/

 

Helen Freeman, Snow Leopard Conservation Pioneer, Fondly Remembered

Source: ISLT Website

Honoring a Conservation Hero

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Helen Freeman on September 20th after a long, courageous battle with lung disease. Helen was a remarkable woman, mother, wife, and friend. She was loved dearly and returned that love with all her heart. During her seventy five years she accomplished many things that have made the world a better place.

Born Helen Elaine Maniotas, daughter of Harry and Goldie Maniotas, on March 10, 1932, she grew up as the only child of Greek immigrants in Everett, Washington. Her parents owned and operated the London Café in Everett for over forty years and made her college education a priority. After graduating from Washington State University in 1954, she began dating Stanley Freeman. It was the simple boating trip turned shipwrecked adventure which convinced her to marry this future safety engineer. Thus began a 49 year marriage of enduring love and an endless series of safety debacles. Helen’s life of adventure would take her halfway around the world where she consorted with Maharajas in India, trekked the Himalayas in Nepal, sailed the Yangtze River to Chungking in China, and organized and participated in Snow Leopard Symposia in the Soviet Union, China and India.

Helen and Stan have two sons, Doug and Harry, who carry with them their mom’s love of animals (Doug is a veterinarian) and love of people (Harry is a developmental psychologist). Once Doug and Harry were old enough to go to school she began her career at the Woodland Park Zoo as a volunteer docent and returned to school at the University of Washington to complete a second degree in animal behavior. It was at this time she found the second love of her life, the snow leopard. She spent countless hours studying this elusive cat and ultimately became one of the world’s foremost experts on the behavior of the captive snow leopard. Meanwhile she took a job at the zoo and worked her way up to Curator of Education in the early 1980s. In 1981 she founded the International Snow Leopard Trust. Under her guidance the ISLT pioneered new approaches to snow leopard conservation and its habitat in Asia. Traveling and working in Asia, many times as a lone woman, she earned the respect of local government officials and conservationists across Asia, Europe and the United States. She pioneered innovative conservation practices that placed local peoples at the center of the movement. Helen inspired so many people to help her cause that the Snow Leopard Trust continues to grow stronger and accomplish goals Helen envisioned almost thirty years ago.

During her illustrious career she received many awards and acknowledgments of her achievements. These include the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington State University in 1990, Acknowledgment of Appreciation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1997, the prestigious Evergreen Award in 1998 “In Recognition of Worldwide Partnerships in Wildlife Conservation and Understanding”, and also a medal of honor from the Woodland Park Zoological Society for conservation and education.

Helen was a force of love and indefatigable determination. She lived with a chronic and degenerative lung condition for thirty years. During this time she founded an international conservation movement, published a collection of memoirs, read veraciously and always, till her last breath, challenged us to be true to ourselves. All this and she knew how to laugh at life and find the absurd in her daily struggles. For instance, she might reply, after briefly recovering from a particularly lengthy bought of coughing, “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play.” She thrived on discussion and would probe, question, and challenge us to look deeper into what is essential and meaningful in our lives and follow our hearts. Some might say that in the end she lost her battle with her illness, but they would be mistaken. She managed her disease, not the other way around. It did not diminish her but strengthened her resolve and, as with business and family, she negotiated and compromised, but in the end, it was her call.

Helen is survived by her husband Stanley, their son Doug and his wife Julie, and their children Madison and Mallory; their son Harry and his wife Grace, and their three children, Elena, Harrison, and Willa. Although her lung condition did not slow her enthusiasm and involvement in her grandchildren’s lives, they did slow her scooter with various grandkids hanging off the handlebars as she motored along forest trails. Now we will carry Helen with us along our own trails and look to her for guidance along the way.

Faisal Saleh Hayat Meets Leo the Snow Leopard

August 1, 2007- Pakistan’s Federal Minister for the Environment Faisal Saleh Hayat, after spending much of last week in the US capital and taking care to stay away from the Pakistani press based here, has surfaced in the Bronx zoo, where, according to an official press release, he met Leo the snow leopard.

While nothing is known about Leo’s reaction, the minister is said to have been “delighted”. Leo was gifted to the Bronx zoo last year. He has not been short of distinguished visitors from the home country, having been visited by Begum Pervez Musharraf a month after his arrival and the minister of state for the environment, Malik Amin Aslam, not much later.

Leo, who was found in the care of a shepherd in the Northern Areas’ Natar Valley, was flown to New York in August 2006 under an agreement signed between the Northern Areas administration and the Wildlife Conservation Society of USA. He may be returned to Pakistan a few years from now, hopefully with a she snow leopard.

Source: The Daily Times

Ecotourism Supports Ladakh Residents

In the remote Ladakh region of India, the “Himalayan Homestays” program offers an alternate source of income to residents whose livestock is sometimes threatened by snow leopard predation. Himalayan Homestays give tourists the opportunity to experience firsthand the traditional lifestyle of the villagers in Ladakh, while the income they generate relieves the financial stress of livestock loss and therefore decreases the incentive for villagers to kill snow leopards.

The Mountain Institute and Snow Leopard Conservancy, both organizational members of the Snow Leopard Network, implemented this program to great success five years ago. Since then, it has become the local model for eco-tourism. In addition to providing a bed and meals, guides are available to lead hikes and point out snow leopard signs.

For more information, see Eco-tourists take to village life in India’s ‘Little Tibet’ or check out the Himalayan Homestays web site.

China, India and Nepal work together to address illegal trans-boundary wildlife trade

From the TRAFFIC Newsroom:

China, India and Nepal are all Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and all three have legal and institutional instruments in place to address wildlife trade issues. However, illegal wildlife trade has become more organized, demand has increased for wildlife and their products and smugglers have more sophisticated systems for transporting consignments. In order to combat this worrying trend driven by increased, international demand, it is now urgent for all three countries to step up efforts such as enforcement at cross-national borders, regional level advocacy, policy analysis as well as collaboration with non-conventional stakeholders such as transport companies.

During the one-day workshop last week, delegates from India, Nepal and China each gave an overview of wildlife trade related issues in their countries. In addition, NGOs working in China – including TRAFFIC, CI, IFAW and WCS – discussed their wildlife trade programmes in China. TRAFFIC introduced the Asian big cats initiative in the region with focus on strengthening enforcement capacity and trans-boundary collaborations. Continuing trade in Asian big cats and their parts, particularly trade in Tiger and Tiger parts, was noted being of a particular concern, feeding into the markets of traditional Chinese medicine and skin trade. Examples of other species of concern from the region noted included rhinos, elephants, and Tibetan Antelope.

“There is a lot of work that needs doing in order to curb down the illegal trade, increase trans-boundary co-operation, improve the law enforcement efforts and establish active networks for communication and information sharing,” said Dr Craig Kirkpatrick, Director of TRAFFIC in East Asia.

“However, to hear so many diverse views on wildlife trade shared openly in a multi-lateral forum is an extremely positive step to right direction and demonstrates political will and collaborative approach shared by all three key countries. China, India and Nepal are now in a position to urgently and effectively address the growing concern of illegal wildlife trade, which continues to filter through this key wildlife trade hotspot of Asia”

For further information:
Caroline Liou, TRAFFIC East Asia – China Programme. Tel: +86 10-6522-7100 ext. 3239, +86 1370-120-4254 email: caroline@wwfchina.org

Maija Sirola, TRAFFIC International (UK). TEl. +44 (0)1223 277427 email: maija.sirola@trafficint.org

Notes:
1The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), was established in 1973 to regulate the international trade in wildlife. This treaty uses a system of permits to control trade in some 30 000 wild species internationally, to prohibit commercial trade in the rarest and regulate trade in others, to ensure that the trade is sustainable and does not lead to the species becoming threatened. See www.cites.org

2TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF and IUCN-the World Conservation Union. See www.traffic.org
 

Saving a Cat with a Precious Pelt

The Seattle Times examines the illegal (yet still widely accepted) selling of snow leopard skins in the markets of Kabul, Afghanistan. Although the practice is on the decline, Western aid workers and military personnel remain the primary consumers of these immoral and illegal products. SLN member Ghulam Malikyar of Save the Environment Afghanistan is especially applauded for his conservation efforts. The International Snow Leopard Trust’s Brad Rutherford (also an SLN member) brings attention to the plight of local people and their lack of livelihood options, reminding readers that efforts from ISLT and similar organizations are essential in preventing local people from poaching snow leopards, either to protect their flocks or to make money on the black market.

For the full story, see http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003530006_snowleopards18m0.html

Insurgency benefits Kashmir wildlife

Many species of Kashmiri animals have greatly benefited from the paramilitary activity that has been taking place in the region since the late 1980’s, with populations rising 20-60 per cent.

There are two reasons for this increase in population. Firstly, local residents were required to turn in their arms when conflict broke out, leaving potential poachers weaponless and thus unable to illegally hunt. Secondly, very few people now venture into the forest for fear of encountering conflicting insurgents. As a result of this, local wildlife populations have been relatively isolated from human interference.

Snow leopard and leopard populations have increased in this region, in addition to bears, two species of deer and many birds.

For more information, see the BBC article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6169969.stm.