Snow Leopards-- Endangered Species

Snow Leopards 

Endangered Species Information

FACT

Snow Leopards have light green or gray eyes, which is very unusual for big cat species, who normally have yellow or gold eyes!

Due to its shy nature, it is hard to determine an exact number of snow leopards that are left in the wild. However, it is estimated that there's fewer than 7,000 in the wild and these numbers continue to decline. 600-700 of these snow leopards are found in zoos around the world. 

Background Information

The Snow Leopard, Panthera uncia is found in 12 different countries including China, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Mongolia, and Russia. However, China contains about 60% of the snow leopard habitat.

In these countries, the snow leopard seeks out high, mountainous habitats with cold temperatures. Over time, snow leopards have evolved to live in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. These can include areas with steep cliffs, rocky outcrops, and ravines. 

These kinds of habitats allow the snow leopards to camouflage to their surroundings, which ultimately helps them catch unsuspecting prey. 

A interesting fact is that unlike other large cats, Snow Leopards aren't able to roar! 

In addition, snow leopards are most active at dawn and are rarely seen in the wild. They travel in solitude and normally pair only during the breeding season. 

-----> Snow Leopards have been found to weigh between 77-120 pounds. They have short forelimbs and long hind-limbs that allow them to leap 6 times the length of its body!

They have thick yellowish, white, or gray-colored fur with distinct black ringed spots and a long tail that provides them with balance and agility. Their tails are incredibly unique because they're thickly furred and can wrap around the snow leopards' bodies to provide added protection from the cold. Their wide feet or paws are fur-lined as well, and act almost like snowshoes when these animals are roaming through the snow and ice. 

-- The snow leopards is an incredible predator that is capable of killing prey that's 3 times its weight. What they prey on depends on this animal's specific location, but most eat wild sheep and goats. Sometimes they seek out smaller animals such as rodents, hares, and birds as well. 

Threats and Causes of its Decline

• Climate Change: A snow leopard's typical habitat is on the snow-covered mountains, just beyond where the snow line begins. However, as the climate changes, temperatures have risen significantly, which causes receding snow lines. This forces snow leopards to move further and further up the mountain. As the snow leopards moves to higher elevations, the vegetation becomes much more scarce, which leads to a limited supply of prey as well. The snow leopards are now having difficulty finding enough sufficient food to survive. 

• Habitat Loss: Human settlement and increased use of grazing space has lead to an extreme decline in the snow leopard's habitat range. Overgrazing damages the fragile mountain grasslands and leaves less food for wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopards' main prey.

• Human and outside interference: Sadly, humans are the sole predators of snow leopards. Due to the high demand for their distinct coats, they are often illegally hunted for the fur trade. Their pelts have been transformed into coats or other garments and some of the snow leopard's bones and body parts are also used in traditional Asian medicine. It is also very harmful when humans mine in the snow leopard habitats. In addition, they are sometimes killed by local farmers, due to fear of losing livestock such as sheep, goats, and horses that are preyed on by the snow leopard. 

Why Are Snow Leopards Important!?

- Snow Leopards are symbols for the countries and areas that they live in.

- As the top predator in these Asian areas, snow leopards are an important ecological role in controlling the population and health of the different species they prey on. 

- Snow Leopards are a very valuable indicator of environmental health in an area. Their declining numbers means that they places in which they live are threatened as well. Protecting the prey and its habitat are also important for protecting areas like grasslands and wetlands in the Yangtze River region. 

Current Conservation Efforts

The World Wildlife Fund has put forth a great amount of effort in conserving the wild snow leopards. 

They have focused on 

• Reducing the conflict between humans and snow leopards and rural development
• Education for sustainable development
• Stopping harmful mining in the snow leopard habitats
• & Controlling illegal wildlife trade.

As for stopping illegal trade and the hunting of snow leopards and its prey, the WWF works with TRAFFIC-- the wildlife trade monitoring network, to hopefully eliminate the illegal trading of snow leopard bones, fur, and other body parts. 

The WWF also works with local communities to monitor snow leopards and reduce the retaliatory kills through insurance plans. Building awareness is also important here, and Through the Land of Snow Project, the WWF looks to secure crucial snow leopard

habitats in Mongolia. 

The Snow Leopard was placed on the endangered species list in 1972 to help protect its declining numbers. Defenders of Wildlife has conservation groups near the snow leopards habitats that work with local farmers to provide them a better understanding of how to co-exist with these endangered species and minimize conflict. 

Reimbursement programs have also been set up to give the farmers a fair market value for the animals or livestock they have lost in return for not killing the snow leopard. 

Panthera's Snow Leopard Program is additional approach for future conservation of the snow leopard. Through scientific research, Panthera has gained and contributed a great amount of knowledge about the best ways to conserve this species. 

Their 3 Fundamental Approaches include

• Identifying the geographic gaps and opportunities for best conserving the species
• Understanding the basic science about this species' to inform and address specific issues such as habitat fragmentation
• Working with existing partners greater effectiveness and generate new projects and partnerships to address existing conservation gaps.

Pathera's conservation efforts currently extend to 7 of the 12 snow leopard countries and they hope to expand over the next few years to inform conservation policies, engaging all 12 snow leopard range countries. 

The Snow Leopard Trust is another group that provides ongoing conservation efforts in the snow leopards' countries. To strengthen conservation, the Snow Leopard Trust holds environmental education seminars in these areas. These seminars provide its partner communities with information about their local ecology and the role that snow leopards play in it. These seminars also allow them to demonstrate the need to protect snow leopards and reinforce the importance of conservation programs in these areas. 

How YOU Can Help!

• Through the WWF you can  symbolically ADOPT A SNOW LEOPARD to help support the conservation efforts. 
• Defenders of Wildlife also provides opportunities where you can symbolically adopt a snow leopard. In addition, they provide ways to take action, stay informed, and speak up for wildlife. These opportunities can all be found HERE
• Donate to Panthera's Snow Leopard Research
• The Snow Leopard Trust provides a wide range of ways to support the snow leopard. Not only can you make a donation here, but you can also find ways to volunteer and join Team Snow Leopard. These opportunities can be found HERE