Nepal

A snow leopard street drama

September 14, 2012 Community-based conservation

The Snow Leopard Scouts of Lower Mustang in Nepal recently performed a dramatic and unique snow leopard street drama called “Mountain Queen, the Snow Leopard”. The young local students performed in Muktinath, a beautiful village sacred to Buddhists and Hindus 3700m high in the Himalayas. The Scouts acted out challenges faced by snow leopards including [...]

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From revenge to protection

April 26, 2012 Nepal

I’d like to share this story from a WWF snow leopard conservationist in Kanchenjunga region of Nepal. It shows first hand the tough relationship between villagers and snow leopards that can often end tragically for the cats. But this story has a wonderful outcome and shows how snow leopards and villagers can live together. Himali [...]

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Snow leopard scouts a world first

February 28, 2012 Community-based conservation

It brings lump to my throat to hear school kids and villagers in Nepal say “this cat has one life and has a right to live it too.” Awesome work by Dr Som Ale, Nepal National Trust for Nature Conservation, Disney Friends for Change and Snow Leopard Conservancy to get this world first program going. [...]

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Video cameras help first snow leopard census in Nepal.

November 4, 2011 Nepal

The Kathmandu Post reported today that a census of snow leopard has started in Mustang district, a remote part of western Nepal which is believed to be snow leopard habitat. “Conservationists say this is the first time a snow leopard census is being conducted in the country. Nine video cameras have been installed in several [...]

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Nepal loses snow leopard conservationist

November 4, 2011 Nepal

Himalayan conservationists are mourning the untimely death of Dr. Pralad Yonzon of Nepal , the founder of Resources Himalaya Foundation, and the team leader of Environmental Graduates in Himalaya (EGH).  Dr Yonzon was a Fullbright scholar and designed many protected areas in the fragile Himalayas.  In a 2005 interview he spoke of his snow leopard [...]

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Snow leopard killed by villagers in Nepal

June 23, 2011 Nepal

This videos was shot during the snow leopard survey in upper Dolpo, Mid- Western Himalayas of Nepal. The snow leopard was killed and thrown into a cave to take revenge for it killing village sheep. Unfortunately where humans and these rare cats live so close together snow leopards do sometimes attack village livestock and villagers [...]

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Poachers say they found snow leopards already dead

June 6, 2011 Illegal wildlife trade

A followup to the recent story about snow leopard poachers’ arrest in Nepal by WWF Nepal staff who were involved in the operation. “Two poachers involved in trading of body parts of endangered wild animal were arrested on 28 may 2011 from Mustang district, a district situated inside the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). The [...]

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No Paradise for these two snow leopards in Nepal

May 31, 2011 Illegal wildlife trade

A shocking story greeted the readers of Kathmandu Post in Nepal  yesterday. It showed this photo of two snow leopard pelts. Two people have been arrested in Mustang in Nepal (where it is illegal to kill the cats) with the hides of the two snow leopards. One is the owner of the Paradise Guest House [...]

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Snow leopard scouts swoop on Sagarmatha

April 8, 2011 Community-based conservation

My friend Dr Som Ale in Nepal has sent me a lovely booklet called “Snow Leopard Scouts From Everest”. Produced by the Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) it’s a collection of lively snow leopard and other animal drawings by schools kids in the Everest (called Sagarmatha by local people) region. It tells the story of the [...]

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DNA technology to help snow leopard reseachers in Nepal

December 2, 2010 Nepal

We all know snow leopards are very hard to study. They are shy and live in snow leopard habitat usually remote from easy access and often at high altitudes. Nepal, with its stunning Himalayan ecosystems has a significant snow leopard population. Until now researchers have relied on hard foot slogging into the remote areas to [...]

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