Wow, great news. Snow Leopard Enterprises has won the BBC Worlld Challenge. It was considered an innovative business model that also benefits the environment. The program helps herders in Mongolia make and sell fine wool handicrafts to increase their income. In turn, herders sign conservation contracts pledging to protect snow leopards living in their area.

  “Snow Leopard Enterprise works with over 250 families in Mongolia to protect snow leopards and improve the quality of life for herder families,” says Brad Rutherford , Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust , who visited with program participants in August. In 2010, every pledge to protect snow leopards was upheld and snow leopards were kept safe across over 25 communities. “Through Snow Leopard Enterprises, we’re improving the conservation status of snow leopards across roughly 50,000 square kilometers of prime snow habitat in Mongolia ,” says Rutherford , “and thanks to the World Challenge we’ve been able to increase recognition and support for this important program.”

 More than 600 proposals were submitted to World Challenge in 2011, from which a panel of judges selected 12 projects to compete. According to BBC World News, over 70,000 voted were cast for the 12 projects and the top three winners were chosen based solely on the number of public votes.

 With the most number of votes, Snow Leopard Enterprises earned the coveted top spot in the competition. As a first place winner, the Snow Leopard Trust will receive a cash prize of $20,000 to advance conservation for snow leopards and Snow Leopard Enterprises will be featured in international versions of Newsweek Magazine and on BBC World News.

Radhika Kothari from Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust. She and her team are doing conservation education, engaging with tourists and working with local villagers and wildlife officials to protect the snow leopards in Ladakh, a spectacular part of the Indian Himalayas.

I recently did a telephone interview with Radhika Kothari from the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust in Leh, the captital of Ladakh in northern India. She talked about the exciting camera research and community conservation programs they are doing, and this is some of the most successful snow leopard conservation work around.

Radhika and her team are very busy and here she explains some of their recent new initiatives to save the beautiful snow leopards in this part of the Indian Himalayas.

“To strengthen scientific research, we chose two areas, Ulley and Saspoche. We got 10 camera traps from Panthera and 5 from the Department of Wildlife Protection (Jammu & Kashmir)  this summer. We got photos from these and counted four, possibly five individual cats.  These 10 cameras were a trial but next year hopefully we’ll be able to set up between 30 and 40 cameras and that will give us good science to tell real number of snow leopards here.

 We consulted with local communities all the way. And we do all this work with the collaboration of the Wildlife department here in Ladakh.

 As far as the communities go, first we involved then with idea of camera traps so that they would accept the cameras and understand what they were for. Then the local people identified an area where there are ibex (major prey of snow leopard) and this area will now be solar fenced and the community is helping with that work too.

 Another project we’re doing is livestock insurance program in western Lladakh and recently we opened our new Snow Leopard Conservation Interpretative Centre at the SLCIT offices in Leh. We showcase information on the cats and Ladakh wildlife and our work. Any one can drop in and for free watch 2 movies we show – Silent Roar and Ladakh Natural history documentary. We’ve also started selling the handicrafts made by local women so there are lots of good reasons for people to drop in and see us.”

I was very lucky to meet with these hard working folks last February when I trekked in Ladakh and saw a snow leopard in the wild. Snow leopard sightings here are very possible and the future wellbeing of the cats, their prey and the villagers that share the spectacular mountain habitat is being protected by the hard work of the SLCIT. Well done, team!

Marc Foggin  is founding director of international NGO Plateau Perspectives and associate professor in the School of Geography and Life Sciences at Qinghai Normal University. He’s worked on conservation and community development projects in Tibet for 15 years.

He recently contacted “Saving Snow Leopards Blog” to report on exciting local snow leopard conservation work from this area of Tibet which has one of the highest densities of snow leopard in the world.

One of the first wildlife monitoring teams from a local grassroots organisation and the local monastery participated in snow leopard conservation work together with Plateau Perspectives. They observed many signs of snow leopards, including prints, scrapes, scat and traces of recent kills. Photo Marc Foggin.

“In a remote area of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in China’s western Qinghai province, local Tibetan herders have been actively protecting the snow leopard and other endangered wildlife in the high grasslands and mountains for more than a decade. Now, with help from non-profit organisation, Plateau perspectives, and the Sanjiangyan National Nature Reserve, they are also using “camera traps” to photograph the animals and document their distribution, range and behaviour.

The people of Muqu village are supporting snow leopard conservation by serving as park wardens, environmental advocates and as partners in applied wildlife research.

When locals are treated as genuine partners and allowed to voice their concerns as well as sharing their knowledge, there is a real opportunity to find better models for a sustainable future. If we are to succeed in protecting the snow leopard, for example, we must equally protect its fragile habitat. To protect the snow leopard is to protect the entire landscape and many other species and habitats will in this way be preserved as well.

For over a decade, around a dozen members of Muqu village have served as wildlife monitors and searched for snow leopards in their rugged mountain terrain. Many different signs can be seen – prints, scrapes, scat and kills – and several times a year, these herders report all their sightings as well as any instance of livestock predation or poaching. Now, with technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS) and digital cameras activated by motion sensors, an increasingly clear picture of the conservation situation is emerging.

This photo of a snow leopard was taken by camera traps on 8 January, 2010 in the Tseren mountains. Photo Marc Foggin.

Since 2009, over a dozen camera traps have been set in the mountains of western Yushu, located according to the extensive knowledge of local herders. Nine individual snow leopards have already been captured on film, within an area of about 150-square kilometres.. Many other species also live here, including blue sheep, Tibetan antelope, wild ass, wild yak, black-necked crane and saker falcon.

But when snow leopards and wolves flourish, the number of livestock killed by these predators rises – and herders are starting to ask about financial compensation. On the one hand, people want to protect the land and wildlife, but on the other hand, the cost is sometimes high. Developing alternate sources of income for local herders is crucial, and the solution currently being explored is ecotourism.

While there are many challenges to developing a viable and equitable ecotourism project, the potential benefits have swayed tourism bureaus and several responsible business partners, community representatives and non-profit organisations to get involved.
Together we can find solutions to protect the high mountains, the grasslands and the wildlife of the Tibetan Plateau. And both the elusive snow leopard and local herders will enjoy the results

You can see more of this project’s photos in a Slideshow here.

A beautiful snow leopard sleeps in her wild home in the Indian Himalayas. Photo Sibylle Noras & Jigmet Dadull.

Who doesn’t?

Earlier this year I had the time of my life watching a snow leopard in the wild in Ladakh, India. I went on a fabulous trek with KarmaQuest and the Snow Leopard Conservancy to the Himalayan mountains in Hemis National Park and with the support and professional tracking of Jigmet Dadul and his team we found a magnificent female cat on our 7th day and spent the entire day observing her.

Snow leopards are rare and elusive; many biologists have studied them for decades and only caught a glimpse or two of the cats. So believe me it is an amazing experience and a privilege to see one in the wild. This trip is being offered again in February (6th to 22nd 2012) and my friend from KarmaQuest, Wendy Lama tells me there are still two places left to join this group.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see a snow leopard in its own wild habitat and contribute to snow leopard conservation in Ladakh. Led by a Ladakhi snow leopard expert wildlife spotter, assisted by trained local scouts and a high-powered telescope in camp, you’ll have the best set of eyes prowling the landscape for you. You’ll also stay with a Ladakhi family in a Himalayan Homestay where you get to share the local way of life, meeting villagers and sharing their food and swapping stories.

Part of the trip cost is a donation (in many cases tax deductible) which directly supports snow leopard conservation in Ladakh through the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust. The folks at the SLCIT are hard working and dedicated and passionate. Its due to their work with ecotourism development programs that benefit and inspire the Ladakhi people to protect snow leopards that make it possible for the cats to thrive in this part of the Himalayas today.

If you’ve always had a dream to see a snow leopard in the wild, go with this group. Each winter group for the last four years has seen a cat, so without a doubt this will be the best chance you’ll get.

Just a reminder if you haven’t voted in the BBC World Challenge the Snow Leopard Enterprises are in the competition and would love to have your vote. This fabulous project supported by the Snow Leopard Trust helps local women sell handicrafts and earn income and help protect the magnificent snow leopard that shares their Mongolian habitat.

Vote now (before midnight 11 November) and the project stands to win publicity and finacial support. Thanks folks

Dr Som Ale searching for snow leopards in the rugged region of Mustang in western Nepal. Photo SLC.

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 areas, including Jomsom, Muktinath temple and Lubra, to count the endangered species. The moderately large cats are found along the northern frontiers in Nepal, mainly in Mustang, Mugu, Dolpa and Humla.

Snow leopard specialists Karan Shah and Dr. Som Ale and Rajkumar Gurung are part of the campaign initiated by National Trust for Nature Conservation, Annapurna Conservation Area Project and other organisations.

“The census aims to find the exact population of snow leopards and conserve them. We believe it will help bring awareness about conservation of leopards among people,” said Ale.  He said the population of snow leopards would be ascertained within two months. The cameras were installed in the areas situated from the altitude of 4,000-5,000 meters and two persons have been deployed to look after each camera.

According to Dr. Ale, 300 to 500 snow leopards are found in Nepal at the height of 5,000 to 6,000 meters and their number is rapidly declining.” Article by Shiva Sharma.

Sad passing of Dr Pralad Yonzon, founder of the Resource Himalaya Foundation. Photo ESC 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 work in Bhutan. “I usually do wildlife survey and design national parks. Design in the sense, we are trying to see whether the range allocated for wildlife is good enough or not. We did the survey for tigers and snow leopards in Bhutan. In Nepal, you cannot think of tigers and snow leopards in one national park, but in Bhutan you do.”

Dr Yonzon, was a keen champion of snow leopard conservation throughout his long career and he was also the primary author of Nepal’s first Snow Leopard Action Plan in 2003.

As well as his research on wildlife in the Himalayan region, Dr. Pralad Yonzon was also the first president of the Society for Conservation Biology – Asia Section.

He described the work of the Resources Himalaya Foundation as, “we are outspoken and we want the coming generations to know 30 years, 100 years later, that there were a bunch of people who spoke at that time and they knew what they were talking about; that they were intelligent, experts and they knew about their land and people.”

Dr Tom McCarthy of  Panthera said in a message to the Snow Leopard Network “Dr Yonzon will be sorely missed by his many colleagues and friends.”

Dr Jane Goodall, world renowned primatologist, considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees.

Hard to believe it’s a year since I attended the Wildlife Conservation Network  Annual Wildlife Conservation Expo in San Francisco last year. WCN recently had their 10^th Annual Expo and the biggest yet, with 1,100 guests and 22 of the world’s best wildlife conservationists.

Keynote speaker this year was Dr. Jane Goodall and I’m sorry I missed this event, it would have been wonderful to hear her inspirational stories. Dr Rodney Jackson of the Snow Leopard Conservancy has been a partner with WCN for many years and he spoke about the current work of the SLC.

Congratulations to the WCN for putting together this amazing event and supporting so many wildlife conservation projects. It’s a great way to bring these wildlife champions and the public together.

Surgeons operating on two snow leopard cubs at Philadelphia Zoo born with coloboma, a dangerous eye abnormality. Photo Philadelphia Zoo.

Two snow leopard cubs, Kimti and Dian, born in June at Philadelphia Zoo have had major surgery to correct coloboma, a medical condition that causes irritation and infections from hairs touching the eyes. Both cubs had the small areas of the centre of their eyelids missing, a condition that is not uncommon in Zoo births.

The two males, born to mum Maya, were treated by a medical team consisting of 4 veterinary opthalmologists. The team did all sorts of things to make sure the operation would be a success, including getting the cubs familiar with the sights and smells of the operating room, and doing their best to make sure the cubs’ mother welcomed them back.

The surgeons deliberately didn’t operate until the cubs were four months old so that if Maya rejected them they were weaned and could be fed by Zoo staff. Usually when domestic pets have this type of operation they are given an Elizabethan collar so they can’t scratch or lick the wounds but the medical team decided this was not a good idea for the cubs as there was a chance their mother may not recognise them or even attack them.

Kimti and Dian, two cubs with coloboma, an abnormality of the eye. They were recently operated on at Philadelphia Zoo. Photo Philadelphia Zoo.

One the cubs had a second stint of surgery but the medical team is optimistic for the health of both cubs.

The Zoo plans to show the cubs to the public next month.

Dr Alan Rabinowitz CEO Panthera. Photo NY Daily News

Congratulations to Panthera CEO Dr. Alan Rabinowitz who has been awarded the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award for Conservation at this year’s Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Launched in 1991, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival attracts hundreds of international leaders in science, conservation, broadcasting and media.

Dr Rabinowitz is recognised as one of the world’s leading field biologists and is an expert on big wild cats. He joins Dr George Schaller, one of the world’s leading snow leopard researchers  who won the Lifetime Achievement award in 2003.

Panthera was started in 2006 and develops and implements global conservation strategies for the largest, most imperilled cats – tigers, lions, jaguars, cheetahs and snow leopards.