First snow leopard to be fitted with a satellite collar in Afghanistan. Photo Anthony Simms, WCS.

Last year the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found snow leopards in the Wakhan Corridor in the north eastern part of Afghanistanafter local local rangers had positioned cameras at 16 locations through the previously war torn mountains. Now researchers from WCS and Afghan veterinarians revealed this week that they have successfully captured, tagged and released two male snow leopards (one on May 27th and the other June 8th). As part of a capture protocol cats are always weighed, measured, have DNA sample taken and then fitted with a satellite collar. Cats are watched for some time after release to make sure they have not been harmed by the experience. Since being fitted with the collars the satellite information shows that the first cat collared, named “Pahlawan”, has traveled more about 120 km (75 miles) since being release, while the second cat, “Khani Wakhai”, more than 145 km (90 miles). “These captures are sensational,” David Lawson, the WCS Afghanistan country director, said. “They are also a real tribute to the knowledge of the local community rangers and the success of our recent camera trapping efforts, which enabled the team to select spots that were known to be frequented by snow leopards.” We look forward to hearing more about these cats over the coming year and wish them and the researchers well.

New WWF study shows climate change may affect snow leopards in Himalayas. Photo by Sibylle Noras.

As well as illegal poaching, retaliation killing and habitat loss, a new WWF study just released shows climate change is an increasing threat for snow leopards in the eastern Himalayas. The WWF study shows that if greenhouse gas emissions keep rising steadily, 30% of snow leopard habitat may be lost.

WWF scientist Jessica Forrest, one of the study’s authors, says: “We know snow leopards rarely venture into forested areas, and there’s a limit to how high these animals can ascend (because of lower oxygen levels at higher altitudes).”

The study says “in the Himalayas snow leopards live in high alpine areas, above the tree line and generally below 5,000 meters, where they are able to stealthily track their prey.

Changing conditions in the Himalayas will likely result in forests moving up into alpine areas, the snow leopards’ preferred habitat. If the tree line shifts upward, as our research predicts, we’re looking at the snow leopard being faced with diminishing options.”

The study used both computer-modelling and on-the-ground tracking to predict the impacts of various warming scenarios on the Himalayan portion of the snow leopard range. 

Warming at high elevations in the Himalayas is happening faster than the global average. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects temperatures there to increase by 3-4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, accompanied by an increase in annual rainfall.”

The full report from WWF can be read here.

The Snow Leopard Trust / Panthera study team in Mongolia have released a video of the beautiful wild cubs they visited in their dens while their mothers were away. This is a world first of studying wild cubs and will provide amazing information to help the cats survive in this mountain region as well as other natural habitats. Can’t wait to follow the progress of these cuties over the coming months and years.

The long term Mongolian snow leopard study by Panthera, Snow Leopard Trust and others finally has three cubs it can study in the wild. Researchers have been following 14 cats for the last few years but only in the last month did two of the females in the study have cubs. This is a huge breakthrough as never before have cubs been a part of a study like this is the wild.

Two of the female snow leopards in the study, Anu and Lasya had cubs the last month. Researchers were able to visit both birthing dens while mothers were out hunting. They found Lasya is the proud mum of two male cubs and Anu also has a male cub. Both mums have dens deep in the mountains but researchers were able to find them as their mothers are collared which allows for monitoring by VHF transmitters

The cubs were checked for gender, weight, health and then then PIT tagged, that is, micro chipped.

The study researchers said “All cubs had full stomachs and appeared to be in good condition. We monitored the females’ movements daily to be sure that they had returned to their dens following the den visits, and we continue to closely watch their activities.”

Cubs in the wild have never been studied but now through the work of this project snow leopard birth rates, sex ratios, and size of cubs will help in the full understanding of how snow leopards live in their mountain habitats. And the more understanding we have the better we are able to support conservation efforts so they continue to thrive in the wild.

Congratulations to all in this study – Panthera, Snow Leopard Trust, Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, Mongolia Ministry of Nature and Environment and Mongolia Academy of Sciences.

Readers can help support this project by making donations to the Snow Leopard Trust or to Panthera.

For the attention of snow leopard researchers!

Calls for Grants applications are now invited by the Snow Leopard Conservation Grant Program. This program is designed to support education, research, or conservation projects on snow leopards that meet the needs identified in the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy (SLSS).

Applicants are researchers, educators, or conservationists from a snow leopard range country, international professionals working closely with, or hosted by, range-country counterparts, and post-graduates of any nationality pursuing a higher degree and whose proposals are compatible with needs identified in the SLSS document. Proposals focusing on grassroots conservation or applied research will be viewed preferentially.

The grant program began in 2008. Grants are funded by the Snow Leopard Trust, the Snow Leopard Conservancy, the Whitley Fund for Nature and the Snow Leopard Network.  The current grant cycle runs from 1 January – 31 December, with initial applications due in July.

Get more information and application here.

A male markhor and kid at the Columbus Zoo. The wild goat has magnificent spiral horns and is a key prey species of the snow leopard. Photo by Graham Jones.

Markhor, the majestic wild goat and important snow leopard prey, is making a remarkable comeback in Pakistan, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society  (WCS). Surveys show there are now over 1500 markhor which is a huge increase since the last government estimate of less than 1,000 in 1999.

Markhor have been listed as Endangered by IUCN since 1994, with less than 2,500 animals across five countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and India. Their numbers have decreased due to illegal hunting, habitat destruction, and competition from domestic goats and sheep.

“We are thrilled that markhor conservation efforts in Pakistan are paying off,” said Peter Zahler, WCS Deputy Director of Asia programs. “Markhor are part of Pakistan’s natural heritage, and we are proud to be assisting the communities of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Government of Pakistan to safeguard this iconic species.”

Community support is the key to conservation of this species. Program Manager Mayoor Khan, developed a conservation program that helps build community conservation committees and trains wildlife rangers throughout Gilgit-Baltistan. Rangers monitor wildlife and enforce laws and regulations related to hunting. They have been so successful that all illegal hunting and logging have stopped in the valleys where they are active.

WCS work has helped not only markhor but also snow leopards and Asiatic black bear.

Peter Hillary, Everest summiteer, son of the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary and Director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation.

Last week at the Australian Himalayan Foundation fundraising dinner I met Peter Hillary, Everest summiteer and son of the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary. It turns out in over 40 years of climbing and trekking through the Himalayas he has only ever caught glimpses of snow leopards twice. The most recent was in April this year when he was in the Solo Khumbu region near Everest.

Speaking with Peter about snow leopards he asked me if there had ever been an incidence reported of a snow leopard attacking a human. I remembered Dr Rodney Jackson, one of the world’s foremost snow leopard experts say recently that to his knowledge there’s never been an authenticated case of a human losing his or her life to a snow leopard attack. “This cat is amazingly shy and rather docile. Really, the opposite is the case given the number of stories of snow leopards — caught in a livestock pen — being stoned or beaten to death by angry villagers.”

Peter did an amazing high altitude Himalayan traverse in 1981, when, with Chhewang Tashi and Graeme Dingle they walked from Sikkim to the Karakoram. This first ever traverse of over 2000km took him and his team ten months and in that time he never saw a cat.

Snow leopard expert Dr Tom McCarthy also says, “I can say with much certainty that humans in snow leopard habitat are in no danger from these big cats. Snow leopards have simply never been known to attack people. Even when they are cornered by herders who find them in their livestock corrals snow leopards do not try to attack. I have captured many of the cats, and even when they are in a snare, they do not act aggressively towards me as I work to sedate them – they just try to avoid me.”

Snow leopards have very sharp teeth to kill and eat their prey but there has never been an authenticated case of a snow leopard attacking a human.

Also the great George Schaller, snow leopard expert extraordinaire is also on record in this issue saying to the New York Times, “I don’t know of a single case of a snow leopard that would attack and kill people.”

Lastly Raghunandan Singh Chundawat, a snow leopard expert from India told National Geographic that he once saw a village girl tug in a goat carcass that unknown to her was also being grabbed by a hidden snow leopard, the girl came away from the encounter unhurt.

Well, that’s pretty weighty evidence in favour of the snow leopard, but if there is anyone out there with a different story we’d love to hear it. Email sibylle@snowleopardblog.com

Anna has been resident at San Diego Zoo for some time and was previously paired with snow leopard Evert, but she didn't have cubs.

Breeding snow leopards in Zoos can be hard work. Todd Speis, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo shares the story of trying to breed Anna, a resident snow leopard at the Zoo and a new male cat Beau. “Initially, we tried an introduction just prior to breeding season. Neither cat took much of a liking to the other, which was not surprising. In the wild, these cats live highly solitary lives and only come together for short periods during breeding season.”

Anna had previously been mated with another cat, Evert but had a series of pseudopregnancies which didn’t result in cubs. You can read the story by Barbara Durrant,  the Henshaw Director of Reproductive Physiology at the San Diego Zoo. She shares in detail the problems of getting cats to the stage of mating and the medical issues with Anna. Sometimes these things don’t come naturally and  Zoo staff have to do a huge amount of research and work to get cubs.

Beauregarde, also known as Beau, the San Diego Zoo male snow leopard keepers are trying to breed.

WWF has put up big posters of snow leopards and the other Asian big cats in the streets of Delhi to educate people about the threats of illegal poaching. Photo WWF

A snow leopard and other Asian big cats, are roaming the streets of Delhi. Large banners featuring tigers, leopards and snow leopards have come up around India’s capital and highlight how the cats are threatened by illegal poaching. This is part of a very eye-catching campaign by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to help people understand the value and fragility of their wildlife. The black and white pictures have a tag line of “Wanted Alive”, a sentiment we would certainly agree with. The Indian government is supporting some very ground breaking snow leopard conservation projects and this campaign will help to spread the word.