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Tales from the Top of the World
Rodney JacksonSnow Leopard Conservancy
Tales from the Top of the World
Introduction by Dr. Don MooreSmithsonian’s National Zoo
Partnering with local people to advance community based stewardship
of snow leopards
Tales from the Top of the World
Rodney JacksonSnow Leopard Conservancy
First Photograph of a Wild Snow Leopard
Pakistan, 1972George B. Schaller
Snow leopardsAdaptations for high mountain life
• Long tail for balance
• Large, padded forepaws & strong chest
• Luxuriant fur
• Enlarged nasal passage & high red blood cell count
What is the Current Status of Snow Leopards?
• Shy, elusive, rarely sighted• Only 3,500-7,000(?) left in wild• Endangered across its 12 range
countries range
Sacred Hermitage, Lapche, Nepal
Ger in Tost Uul, South Gobi
Bactrian CamelsGansu Province, China
Great Gobi National Park, Mongolia
Winter – best time for studying snow leopards
National Parks & Other Protected Areas Critical Habitat for Snow Leopards
Mt Amadablam (with Mt. Everest in background) Sagarmatha NP, Nepal
Skyu-Kaya in Hemis NP, Ladakh (India)
Primary Threats -- poaching for profit or retribution
West Nepal 1976
Photo: NGS
Widespread poaching of wildlife
Snow Leopards Need Good Natural Prey Base
Worst Case Scenario Multiple livestock losses from poorly constructed pens
SLC’s Conservation Strategy
Change local perception of snow leopard as a pest
Foster community-based stewardship of snow leopards, prey & habitat at the landscape level
1. DISCOVER
2. DREAM
3. DESIGN
4. DELIVER
The 4 “D’s”
Community planning from the bottom up
What you seek is what you will find
What you believe in -- and act on – will matter most
Typical Planning Exercise: Ranking of Mortality Sources(Participants don’t need to know how to read or write)
Simple Tools to Visualize the FutureContrasting communities - harmony or conflict?
poster shows different scenarios & stimulates debate
Livestock husbandry
poster commissioned
in the
style of traditional
Buddhist monastery art
Eliminate catastrophic livestock losses by predator-proofing night-time corrals
Photo Steve Winter NGS
Each community corral project protects 5+ snow leopardsfrom poisoning or other retributive killing
Direct Cost: $800 - $2,000
Participatory Planning Achieves Better Results
Poorly-designed & unused corral at base of cliff -- result of top-down planning
• Values indigenous knowledge
• Involve all in planning
• Foster community pride, resilience & self-sufficiency
Pamir Mountains,Tajikistan
Qomolangma Nature Preserve, Tibet
Profitable & Environmentally Friendly Parachute CafésHelp Save Snow Leopards
Solar-cooker for safe drinking water….saving scarce fuelwood
Himalayan Homestays
Experience Traditional Life in a Himalayan Village
Rumbak VillageHemis National Park, Ladakh
www.himalayan-homestays.com
How villagers use extra income from Homestays
• Send children to school in Leh
• Re-invest in homestays & parachute cafes (furniture, solar showers, more items for sale)
• Plant trees & fodder to reduce grazing in wildlife areas
• Village clean-up campaign
• Village Conservation Fund (contribute 10-15% of revenues)
Before, snow leopards were a despised predatorBut now, thanks to SLC …
Snow leopards & other wildlife are like a necklace around our mountains.
Comment by villager to Rinchen Wangchuk, SLC India Director
Photo: Som Ale
Kids’ reader “My Grandmother Says” now
in five languages (including Tibetan
Braille)
Meeting with His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama National Geographic Forum of Conservationists
2006
Photo: NGS
Merging the world of facts & figures with the spirit world
Petroglyphs throughout Siberia’s Altai-Sayan Ecoregion record messages from ancestors
Russia’s Gorno-Altay Republic & Southern Siberia
The Soyot Spiritual Protector
Monument at Sacred Waterfall
Welcoming CeremonySoyot Community
Eastern Sayan Mountains, Siberia
Norbu
Buddhist Lama & Soyot Sharman
Kosh Agash School PlayMay 2010
Snow Leopard FestivalAltai Mountains
Argut River Nature Park
Snow leopards in Tuva - Alexander Kuksin
Camera Trap Training, Gorno-Altai, August 2010
Snow Leopard Video loading….
Hemis National Park, India - 2004
The Story of Togoldor in Mongolia’s Baga Bogd Mountain
Togoldor’s Travels
… video loading…
Non-invasive Genetic Surveys
Scat Survey Sites in Mongolia
Gurvansaikhan National Park – 17 snow leopards detected
(10 ♂ 7 ♀ along 66.9 km of transects)
867 scats collected to date
Russia
China
Remote camera photos taken by villagers in Northern Pakistan
1 (behind Mom)2
3
National Geographic Magazine - June 2008
PBS Nature Series (2006) - Silent Roar
Special Thanks to:American Himalayan Foundation Australian Himalayan FoundationCGMK Foundation Calgary Zoological Society Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund National Geographic SocietyOmidyar Foundation SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund San Francisco Zoological Society Shared Earth FoundationThe Christensen Fund Wild Cat Education & Conservation FundWildlife Conservation Network (WCN)
And supporters like you…
Visit www.snowleopardconservancy.org