Rinchen Wangchuck, Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust who passed away earlier this week. Photo SLCIT.

After the news of Rinchen Wangchuk’s passing this week many people have posted their condolences here on the Blog for Rinchen’s family and friends. I just wanted to thank you all and let you know I am passing these messages to his family and to his colleagues at the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust in Leh, Ladakh. Rinchen obviously made a huge impression on many people, not only with his passionate snow leopard conservation work, but also his warm personality and outlook.

Readers will know from a blog post earlier this week that Rinchen received  an “Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community-based Snow Leopard Conservation” from the Snow Leopard Conservancy US. Rodney Jackson from the SLC  told me that although the award was formally presented to Rinchen just a short time before he passed away, he had known about it for a few months. It is fitting that he was able to enjoy the Award in that time.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with Mongol the snow leopard. According to independent conservationists the cat was captured and held in a cage for a week so that Putin could exploit it’s socalled ‘release’ as as a media opportunity.

It’s gratifying to see that the media has picked up on Russian Prime Minister Putin’s snow leopard stunt. Initially most media outlets ran with the story that Putin’s media machine wanted them to. A snow leopard had been saved from poacher’s and the PM in his role as protector of wildlife, was releasing the poor animal in the wild.

Meanwhile snow leopard conservationists in Russia knew the real story. Mongol the snow leopard was abducted from his habitat in a nature reserve, airlifted 100 miles to a neighbouring region, and held in captivity for a week before Mr Putin’s came to ‘release’ him. Injuries he was supposed to have sustained through poachers were in fact caused by the poor animal throwing himself against his cage for a week, bloodying his nose.

Novaya Gazeta Daily reported that the snare was set up by scientists not poachers and ‘Mongol’ got his injuries in the cage trying to escape.

“Seeking freedom, he lunged at the iron bars and broke his nose,” wrote the paper, citing independent conservationists. Let us hope that having been caught out by the both the Russian and international media Mr Putin now stops this sort of outrageous exploitation of an endangered animal for his own political ends.

My earlier post on this story here.

Rinchen Wangchuck, Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust, who passed away this week. Photo SLCIT.

I’ve just received tragic news from the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust that their Director, Rinchen Wangchuk has passed away. Rinchen this week received an Award for Outstanding Achievements in Community-Based Snow Leopard Conservation from the Snow Leopard Conservancy U.S.

Sadly he had been suffering from a motor neuron disease for some time. He leaves behind his wife and two young children.

I’ve been aware of Rinchen’s ground breaking work with local communities for some time but never had the chance to meet him. On my recent trek in Ladakh’s Hemis National Park I met many of his friends and colleagues who spoke about his passion for  educating the people of Ladakh to live in harmony with the snow leopards in this spectacularly beautiful part of the Himalayas. During that trek I was able to spend 8 hours watching a beautiful snow leopard and I know this was largely possible due to Rinchen’s dedication to changing the attitudes of local herders so they value the cats .

My sincere condolences go to Rinchen’s family, his friends and colleagues. I know he will never be forgotten. His vision and his work live on.

Rinchen Wangchuck, Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust has received an award recognising his groundbreaking work with snow leopard conservation in Ladakh India. Photo SLCIT.

An award announced by Rodney Jackson, Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy honors one of  India’s snow leopard conservation heroes. Rinchen is receiving many messages of congratulations from all over the world. This is the message from Rodney Jackson –

“Rinchen Wangchuk, Founder-Director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy–India Trust, has received an Award for Outstanding Achievements in Community-Based Snow Leopard Conservation. This award was presented to Rinchen by the Snow Leopard Conservancy U.S., to honor Rinchen’s pioneering role in the development of community-based conservation initiatives that are shifting local herders’ perception of the snow leopard from a predatory pest to be trapped or poisoned for killing their livestock to a valued asset worth more alive than dead.

Mark Coreth's snow leopard sculpture has been awarded to Rinchen Wangchuk. Photo SLC.

Mark Coreth, master sculptor of animals in motion, donated this “field study,” which he created in 2005, immediately after seeing the snow leopard in Hemis National Park during a visit with Rinchen and Rodney Jackson. The base for the sculpture was crafted from Indian mahogany by Snow Leopard Conservancy U.S. volunteer Roger Perso.  This award also included a grant of $20,000, provided by generous donors.

For more than a decade Rinchen has forged enduring partnerships with local communities in the Ladakh, Zanskar, and Nubra regions of northern India.  He has brought these communities to the forefront of efforts to protect snow leopards­which may number less than 5,000 across twelve countries of Central and South Asia­and the blue sheep, argali and ibex on which the cats depend.  Rinchen has worked with livestock herders to predator-proof their nighttime corrals, and has trained local men and women in income generation skills that are intrinsically linked with snow leopard conservation.  He has spearheaded the creation of a conservation education program, blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for children throughout the region.

SLC founder Dr Rodney Jackson with sculptor Mark Coreth and a working version of his snow leopard. Photo SLC.

Perhaps Rinchen’s greatest achievement has been his role in promoting sustainable rural tourism, including the award-winning Himalayan Homestay program. This highly acclaimed UNESCO-sponsored project was launched in 2003, and has catalyzed similar community-driven initiatives in Tajikistan, Pakistan and Mongolia.  The Leh-based SLC-India Trust grew out of a partnership with the Snow Leopard Conservancy U.S., led by Rodney Jackson, and now operates as an independent organization devoted to community-based wildlife conservation.

Rinchen’s commitment to the welfare of wildlife and rural people grew naturally from his own Ladakhi village upbringing, and his experiences as a mountaineer and nature tour guide. His expertise was honed by special training in community-based tourism from The Mountain Institute and Thailand’s Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific.  Rinchen also assisted researchers in developing the Earthwatch program, “Land of the Snow Leopard.” He has served as a naturalist and assistant on several documentaries filmed in Hemis National Park, including the widely acclaimed “Silent Roar: Searching for the Snow Leopard.”

Congratulations also from this Blog, Rinchen. Without you the snow leopards of Ladakh would have not have the bright future your work has helped to give them.

Tomorrow, 26th March, is the day for Earth hour. At 8.30 pm Earth hour is a chance for you to turn off your lights for an hour (or more) and show your commitment to protecting the earth. Spend some time in darkness or in candlelight with friends or a quiet reflection time. Either way, enjoy and help people everywhere contribute to a more sustainable future. Snow leopards and endangered wildlife and threatened habitats will be grateful.

Dr Tom McCarthy.Photo Panthera.

News just in this morning from Dr Tom McCarthy from Panthera.

Tom writes to over 3500 people who signed their petition  – “Thanks to your help in signing and sharing Panthera’s petition, the Mongolian government has just announced the cancellation of the planned hunting of at least four snow leopards – and possibly many more – for scientific ‘research’.

We congratulate the Mongolian Government for considering the input from so many Mongolian and international scientists and NGO’s, including Panthera, and listening to the voices of people around the world, in making what we firmly believe is the right decision.

As we celebrate this exciting achievement, we must still remember that the snow leopard remains endangered, with just 3,500-7,000 individuals remaining in the wild across 12 countries in Asia.

Well done Panthera! And well done the Snow Leopard Network, the Snow Leopard Trust and the Snow Leopard Conservancy. I know many of these folks worked tirelessly the last week to lobby the Mongolian government. Without their work more of our beautiful and rare cats would have been senselessly killed.

If any readers would like to make a donation to snow leopard conservation at this time please do so – Panthera, Snow Leopard Conservancy or Snow Leopard Trust. They rely on donations to be able to do work like this when it is critically needed.

Thanks again to all who signed the petition, snow leopards are grateful! Best regards, Sibylle.

Famous snow leopard conservationist and Vice President of Panthera, Dr George Schaller is asking the Mongolian government to overturn the decision allowing killing of 4 snow leopards. Photo WCS.

The Mongolian government announced 4 snow leopards (and possibly more) could be hunted and killed for ‘research purposes’. Snow leopard conservationists everywhere are shocked as Mongolia has been at the forefront of conserving the endangered cats in Asia.

Conservation agency Panthera, which is leading collaborative and groundbreaking research in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, has launched a petition to lobby the government to overturn this decision.

Please lend your voice to this urgent matter and sign the petition here.

Dr Tom McCarthy, Executive Director Snow Leopard Program, Panthera, and world renowned snow leopard expert, working in Mongolia. McCarthy is actively lobbying the Mongolian government to overturn the decision allowing four snow leopards to be killed for 'research purposes.' Photo Panthera/SLT.

These days there are many effective ways to study the rare cats like radio collaring, DNA collection of scat and remote camera photography. Mongolian and international researchers have successfully employed these methods to protect the cats and build community support for their long-term survival. Killing the animals for research is absolutely not necessary.

Take a moment and join famous snow leopard conservations like George Schaller and Tom McCarthy to help stop the killing of beautiful endangered snow leopards – sign the petition now.

Following up from yesterdays post, a Russian media report says Mongol has been released. According to AFP news service Putin had been to see Mongol in his cage. “What a beautiful little cat,” Putin, dressed in a Russian hat and a quilted jacket marked with the Russian eagle and the initials V.V. Putin, whispered as he stared at the snow leopard.

Reports in the snow leopard research community say Mongol spent hours battering himself against the cage to the point where his nose was bloodied. Here are photos of Mongol in the cage he was kept in for the last week. An absoloute disgrace!

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin orchestrating media stunt involving endangered snow leopard. The wild snow leopard has been captured specifically so that Putin can be seen to 'release it'. Photo Wikipedia.

Snow leopards are endangered in Russia but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is pulling a media stunt for his own gratification that has endangered the life of one these rare cats and sends all the wrong messages to his fellow countrymen and women. As part of the Sochi Olympics hype he is going to ‘set free’ Mongol, a snow leopard captured last week.

Mongol has been living in the Sayano-Shushensky nature reserve area but a week ago was captured and collared ostensibly for research purposes. Instead of immediately releasing the animal, which is what happens in true research, Mongol has been moved and kept caged to the time that he can be ‘released’ by Putin. This controvenes many international wildlife laws that Russia is a signatory to.

The snow leopard is the main symbol for the Sochi Olympics and Putin is quoted as saying, “This image tells us that Russia is very diverse. Russia is beautiful for its diversity, and the fact that one of the symbols of the Olympics has become an animal that we are reviving, and which was destroyed by humans in 50s of the last century, suggests that Russia is becoming different,” the Prime Minister said.

“Russia cares for nature, cares about its resources, restoring it for future generations, this is a sign of modern Russia, he said.”

Aleksandr Bondarev, director of WWF’s Altai-Sayan program said “It is illegal and dangerous for the animal – the animal is under constant stress, and the possible results of that stress on his life are unknown. Moreover, we do not understand why the snow leopard has been held for 5 days. Usually the process of fitting a collar takes no more than an hour,” he said.

Capturing snow leopards for research is strictly regulated. WWF specialist Natalya Dronova said “the time period and means of capture of animals are determined in accordance with the goals of capture and should not cause harm to natural populations of these species and their habitats.” “Collaring assumes that the snow leopard is caught, fitted with the collar, and released. Anything else, including transporting a Red Book (endangered) species animal, should be specifically mentioned in the permit. Releasing a  collared individual in a location other than where it was captured is forbidden on principle – it contradicts logic. After all, the animal is being collared in order to learn how it behaves in its natural surroundings,” she said.

It is very disappointing to see a so-called world leader using an endangered animal in such a circus. Sadly it tells us a lot about the future of this beautiful species in Russia.

News of the snow leopard capture released by the Snow Leopard Network. Original Russian reports translated by Jennifer Castner, Altai Project.