8/14/2019 Snow Leopard Poster

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Snow Leopard - Panthera uncia

ConservationIn compliance with CITES regulations, the snow leopard is legally protected from hunting and trade by national legislation in most of its states. Afghanistan has listed thespecies on its first ‘Protected List Species’ 2009, which bans the hunting and trade within Afghanistan. Many organisations have provided a framework for the development of national action plans, but many have not been adequately funded.The Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Conservancy are the world’s leading snow leopard conservation organisations. They  have developed a multifaceted approach totheir conservation, including research, educational initiatives, data storage, community based conservation and protection of livestock. This will end retributive killing of snowleopards. Another conservation idea that has recently been brought forward is to link fragmented snow leopard populations by habitat corridors.The International Snow Leopard Trust was established in 1981. Its main activities involve the coordination of information management and conservation programmes. Thetrust concentrates on working closely with the local people to conserve the leopard. They also maintain a database of protected areas.

 As there are only considerably small isolated populations left in the wild, it is essential for increased conservation measures to prevent extinction. In order to stop illegal tradeand poaching threats, national legislation and conservation policies must be strengthened, along with law enforcement capacity and international cooperation to enforce tradebans in accordance to CITES (Theile, 2003).

Legal status/protectionEndangered Species Act (ESA): the snow leopard is listed as endangered.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List:Listed as endangered. Snow leopards are suspected to have declined by at least 20%overthe past twogenerations

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):The snow leopard is listed in Appendix I. It has made the transport of any snowleopard partsacross international borders illegal.

Convention of Migratory Species: listed in appendix II. Protection of snow

leopard from being hunted.

The Great Cats and Rare Canids Act (GCRCA): supports conservation

programs, educational resources, increased monitoring and law-enforcement

measures toprevent poaching and illegal trafficking.

 Altai-Sayan Ecoregion Action Plan (ASEAP): targets the protection of thesnow leopard and its primaryprey.

National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (NPWCA) : Establishedby the Government of Nepal. Issues fines and imprisonment of up to 15 years forpoaching and the tradeof pelt and body parts.

Fur trade and snow leopardsThe trade of snow leopard pelts is a contributing factor to their depletion. Their pelts are sold for fashion, to be commonly turned into coats, bags and hats. Around 1000 snow

leopard pelts were traded every year in the 1920’s. The value of a skin in Kyrgyzstan is more than sixtytimes higher than the annual minimum wage. There has been an increase inpoaching incidentssince the break-upof the USSR, and pelts are still sold on the black-market in Eastern Europe, Asia and Russia.

 About the snow leopard . . .The snow leopard is a moderately large cat native to themountain ranges of central Asia (figure 1). Like other ‘bigcats’, they are carnivorous, opportunistic predators. Theirdiet mainly consists of mountain sheep, goats, marmots,hares and large birds. However, habitat loss has resultedin the depletion of natural prey and occasionally, locallivestock is taken. Their smoky grey coat provides aperfect camouflage against the snowy, rocky landscape,

 which aids them during hunting. They are capable of killing prey up to three times their weight, and their shortmuscular legs allow them to leap up to 30 feet to catchtheir prey.The snow leopard is nocturnal. They are most active atdawn and dusk. Their lifespan is usually between 15 and18 years, but they are known to live up to 20 years incaptivity. There are between 600 and 700 snow leopardsat present in zoos around the world. They are solitary animals, except when the females are raising their cubs.They has also been known to share hunting duties withits mate during breeding season. Litter size is usually twoto three cubs, which remain dependent on their mothersfor up to two years. Females reach sexual maturity between two and three years, and the mating season isbetween January and March. Cubs are born in spring toavoid harsh winter conditions, and to ensure theabundance of food. The gestation period is usually three

months. Although the total range of the snow leopard covers ahuge area, the cat is found in small fragmented locations  within each state. This, along with harsh weatherconditions, high mountainous altitudes (2000-4000m),and dangerous rocky terrain has made it difficult to getaccurate data about the remaining wild populationnumber. However, the table 1 shows the estimatedpopulations in the areas the snow leopard is still found(as predicted by the International Union for Conservationof Nature). The IUCN has also estimated the global snowleopard effective population size to be fewerthan 2 500.

How can I help?•Raising awareness•Become a member of the Snow Leopard Trust•Donating money towards conservation work• Adopt a snow leopard• Volunteering your time

To find out more, visit www.snowleopard.org

Range

Country

Habitat

Area

(km2)

Estimated

Population

Afghanistan 50,000 100-200?

Bhutan 15,000 100-200?

China 1,100,000 2,000-2,500

I ndia 7 5, 00 0 2 00 -6 00

Kazakhstan 50,000 180-200

Kyrgyz

Republic105,000 150-500

Mongolia 101,000 500-1000

Nepal 3 0, 00 0 3 00 -5 00

Pakistan 80,000 200-420

Tajikistan 100,000 180-220

Uzbekistan 10,000 20-50

MichelleChildBSc EnvironmentalResourceManagement

ThreatsThe decline in populations has been caused bya number of factors. The most significantthreats have been caused by hunting the leopards for their fur, and habitat loss causedby global warming and the increase in farming activity in local towns and villages.

 Although the snow leopard is protected in most of the areas, local hunting and trappingstill persists. The loss of habitat has resulted in a reduction in food availability. Thisalong with the poorly constructed farm enclosures has led to the occasional livestocktake. If a snow leopard is encountered on one of the farms, it is killed. Their bones are

used in medicines in Asia, particularly in China. Lack of conservation capacity, policy and awareness is a main component affecting the survival of the remaining wildpopulations. Without continued and increased action by the  world’s conservationorganisations,snow leopards may face a very high risk of extinction in the near future.

www.moggyblog.com/.../snow_leopard_family.jpg

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/

http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/kids/pix/skinnedlep.jpghttp://www.iucnredlist.org/

 www.snowleopard.org

Table 1. Estimated remaining populations of snowleopards

Fig 1. Map to show distribution of snow leopards