Friday, 6 November, 2009 – 10:19
Rare photo shows endangered snow leopard in the wild
A trap camera took this rare photo of a snow leopard.
By Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society released two photos Thursday of a snow leopard, an endangered cat that lives in the high mountains of Central Asia.These photos were taken by a trap camera in Sast Valley in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor and sent to my colleague Dan Vergano,who wanted to share them with the pet community. Thank you, Dan. We’ll do more on wild cats and wolves in upcoming blogs.
WCS researchers are conducting ongoing wildlife surveys in this remote area with the goal of establishing a protected area. They found this endangered cat willing to strike a pose or two.
Trap cameras are placed in an animal’s habitat and are automatically triggered to go off when an animal goes by, allowing researchers to take photos without being nearby.
Snow leopards are on The World Conservation Union’s Red list of Endangered Species, the same endangered status given to the panda and tiger. Snow leopards are elusive creatures. Sightings are rare, partly because of how well they blend into the landscape. They weigh about 75-120 pounds (roughly seven to eight times the weight of a house cat and one-seventh to one-eighth the size of a tiger). They have large paws that allow them to jump up to 50 feet. More information about the cats and where they roam can be found at the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Snow Leopard Trust websites.
Peter Matthiessen writes about a magical journey he took on foot – what else? – in the rugged mountains of northwest Nepal with a wildlife biologist to look for these near-mythical creatures in The Snow Leopard.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/pawprintpost/post/2009/08/rare-photo-shows-endangered-snow-leopard-in-the-wild/1
Tiger, snow leopard numbers dip
SHYAM BHATTA/RAMESH KUMAR POUDEL
Making public the report of the census carried out from November 19, 2008, to March 7, 2009, in 14 districts on Monday, the government said the tiger population slightly declined from 2003 when their number was 123. Similarly, the number of snow leopards has been estimated to have declined in between 300 and 400, while previously their number was estimated to be in between 400 and 500.
The counting of tigers was done using ´capture´ and ´recapture´ method that uses snaps taken by automatic cameras placed at certain places. The stripes of tigers, which never match with another tiger, caught in the camera are then analyzed to avoid repetition in counting.
Chitwan has 91, Bardiya 18, Shuklafanta eight and Parsa four tigers according to the census which found tigers even outside conservation areas in some districts.
The dwindling number of tigers and snow leopards should be taken with due gravity, says Deputy Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Megh Bahadur Pandey. Conservationists have been on a high alert ever since the
The census carried out using employees of the government, the department, National Nature Conservation Trust and World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
The counting of snow leopards was done in the mountainous region from Ganesh Himal to Rolwaling, Sagarmatha, Makalu Varun and Kanchanjungha with the financial help from WWF America,
Himachal Pradesh takes steps to consolidate Snow Leopard Conservation
Himachal Pradesh takes steps to consolidate Snow Leopard Conservation
In a significant step to strengthen conservation of the Snow Leopard, the state animal of Himachal Pradesh, the wildlife department organized an intensive and constructive brain-storming session with snow leopard experts on Tuesday, 16th June, in Shimla. The workshop, chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Himachal Pradesh, Shri Avay Shukla, was attended by senior staff of the Wildlife Department, field staff from Spiti Wildlife Division, Snow Leopard experts from the Nature Conservation Foundation and the Snow Leopard Trust.
The
In this unique collaborative project, snow leopard experts are working closely with the senior wildlife officials to develop a good, participatory management plan for the Spiti landscape. In today’s meeting, results of painstaking research conducted over 4000 km2 by wildlife experts in the Upper Spiti Landscape was presented by snow leopard experts, and the structure of the management plan was laid out. There were spirited discussion on all aspects, and valuable inputs were provided by the wildlife officials.
As the next step, a combined team of Senior Wildlife officials and snow leopard experts will be visiting Spiti to conduct local consultations. The management plan is expected to be finalized over the next few months, and implemented with support of Project Snow Leopard, a recently approved programme of the Government of India.
The PCCF cum Chief Wildlife Warden Himachal Pradesh, Mr. A.K. Gupta, while giving valuable inputs during the discussions, also proposed a vote of thanks, appreciating the effort made so far in this unique project. The wildlife department is determined to set up a unique and participatory snow leopard conservation programme in
Some additional published information about the meeting:
Plan to conserve snow leopard
Shimla, June 20
Wildlife experts and officers of the Forest Department have held discussions to finalise a management plan for the conservation of snow leopard under the national project being implemented in the Himalayan states.
Spiti valley chosen for initiating Project Snow Leopard in Himachal
Posted: Friday , Mar 27, 2009 at 0142
As the pre-project stage gets underway in the state, the first-ever census of snow leopards is being conducted by the National Conservation Foundation (NCF), a non-government organisation. So far, only the head count of snow leopards is as per estimates, that put the numbers at around 400.
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Encouraged by the marginal increase in the number of snow leopards in Himachal, one of the biggest habitat of the endangered species, the Wildlife Department is in the process of launching a project for developing a conservation strategy to increase their population.
HP to protect endangered snow leopards in the state
This story is from the Chennai Online Jul 02, 2009
The state government has submitted a Rs 1.40-crore project to the Centre for the protection and conservation of the endangered snow leopards in Himachal Pradesh,
According to a 2003 census report, there were only 35 snow leopards in the state. The animal is found in high altitude regions in Lahual and Spiti district.
This project for 2009-10 has been formulated after reviewing progress of the ongoing activities of the forest department at Spiti, an official release said.
A management policy was being formulated for the protected area in Spiti valley, which would also help in protecting the wild life, the minister said.
Snow leopards and the art of Olympic environmental diplomacy
The Reuters global sports blog
June 23rd, 2009
Posted by: Karolos Grohmann
http://blogs.reuters.com/sport/2009/06/23/snow-leopards-and-the-art-of-olympic-environmental-diplomacy/
Capturing the elusive cat
Ashwin Aghor / DNA
One snow leopard a year lost to poaching
14 June, 2009 – At least one snow leopard has been killed by poachers every year since the enactment in 1995 of the forest, nature and conservation Act, which prohibits the killing of endangered wild animals in the country.
Records until 2007 with the nature conservation department (NCD) show that 193 wild animals were poached between 1992-2007. These include 15 snow leopards, five tigers, 61 musk deer, a porcupine and a python.
NCD officials said that, although tigers and snow leopards are endangered species, poaching and illegal trade poses a threat to these animals, even in protected areas. The high commercial value of certain species attracts poachers, according to conservation officials. Prominent species poached for commercial trade include tiger, musk deer, black bear and Chinese caterpillar (Cordyceps sinensis).
“Poachers mostly use guns and arrows or set traps, which have even snared humans and domestic animals,” said NCD’s chief forestry officer, Dr Sonam Wangyel Wang.
To protect these big cats, WWF and local wildlife authorities are working together to establish anti-poaching units and strengthen anti-poaching law enforcement. In addition to poaching, WWF and its partners are addressing human-wildlife conflict, by setting up a compensation fund for local farmers, whose livestock is often killed by tigers and leopards.
Around 26 percent of Bhutan’s land is under protected area, but poaching is encouraged by demand from other countries. Tigers are particularly threatened as its parts are used in many traditional East Asian medicinal disciplines. “There also exists a commercial demand for non-medicinal parts of the tiger, most notably the skin, teeth and claws,” said Dr Wang. “Besides poaching, human/wildlife conflicts also result in the killing of wild animals.”
Officials say that the protected areas do not have adequate human resources for enforcement, making it difficult to implement an effective anti-poaching strategy. Data, regarding the degree of poaching and killing, is also generally inadequate.
“If law enforcement isn’t strengthened and strict measures put in place to curb poaching, Bhutan may lose valuable species of wildlife within a short period of time,” he said, adding that officials in the field must be equipped well to combat poaching.
By Nima Wangdi
http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12729
Snow Leopard Released to Wild after Recovery from Sickness
2009-06-10 19:21:24 Xinhua Web Editor: Qin Mei
A female snow leopard was released back into the wild in northwest China Wednesday after receiving care for a respiratory tract infection. The big cat, which weighed 40 kg and was between 70-80 cm long, hesitated a few seconds after the cage was opened, then rushed to the woods in the suburbs of Zhangye City, Gansu Province, without looking back at the people who had taken care of her since she was found on April 29. “She was exhausted and panting when she was found. We believed she was too sick to hunt from an infection and so she came into the village to look for food,” said Zhao Chongxue, a researcher with the Gansu Endangered Animal Research Center. Staff added medicine to food and water for the snow leopard for 10 days essentially curing her, Zhao added. The snow leopard wandered into a village at the foot of Qilian Mountain in Zhangye City, on April 29, prompting fearful villagers to seek help from police. The animal was then shot with a tranquilizer gun and put in an iron cage for transfer to the research center. Xie Jianrong, chief wildlife official of Zhangye City, said the area where the snow leopard was released is sparsely populated and rich in prey. He believed she would live a good life there in the wild. Hundreds of local residents came to see the rare animal Wednesday. Snow leopards are usually nocturnal and live in mountains more than 3,000 meters above sea level. The animal is listed as endangered in China, the same classification given to the giant panda. An estimated 3,500 to 7,000 wild snow leopards roam the mountains of central Asia, in addition to 600 to 700 more in zoos around the world. http://english.cri.cn/6909/2009/06/10/2001s492130.htm
Population of snow leopards rises in Kyrgyzstan
05/06-2009 07:44, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Artem PETROV
Population of snow leopards rises on the territory of Sarychat-Ertash nature reserve,
There are reportedly seven animals listed in Kyrgyz Red Data Book of endangered species, two of them are leopardesses with cubs. “Growth of snow leopard population should continue up to restoration of it initial number on the territory- 17-20 animals,” the National Academy of Science said.
Note from the news agency “24.kg”. Sarychat-Ertash nature reserve is situated at junction of Internal and
URL: http://eng.24.kg/community/2009/06/05/8171.html