$50 pays for a porter to transport environmental education supplies to village schools.
$250 supports camera trap monitoring of snow leopards by local villagers.
$5,000 supports snare removal and anti-poaching programs in snow leopard habitat.
Snow leopards inhabit the high mountains of Central Asia.
Rarely sighted, snow leopards inhabit the high mountains of Central Asia over an expansive twelve-country range.
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Snow Leopard Conservancy creates harmony between people and the endangered snow leopard.
The strikingly beautiful but endangered snow leopard remains one of the world’s most mysterious cats. Rarely sighted, it inhabits the high mountains of Central Asia over an expansive twelve-country range.
Unfortunately, the snow leopard can come into conflict with the economic needs of the people who live in and around its habitat. These communities are largely pastoral, and snow leopards pose a threat to their livestock. When people move into the snow leopard’s traditional habitat, the big cat loses much of its traditional prey and then targets domestic stock. Snow leopards also carry valuable skins that can provide much-needed income to villagers, 40% of whom live at the poverty line.
Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) engages local people and builds on their traditional beliefs to create harmony between people and the endangered snow leopard. Its creative programs serve as a model for community-based conservation and bolster the snow leopard’s chances for survival.
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The future of the snow leopard will depend on resolving human-wildlife conflicts.Dr. Rodney Jackson
Dr. Rodney Jackson, Founder and Director
Dr. Rodney Jackson grew up in a thatched house in South Africa with no plumbing and kept himself occupied watching antelope and leopards. After studying zoology, Rodney went to Nepal to photograph snow leopards. What he found in Nepal, however, was the skinned carcass of a snow leopard. It was this experience that convinced him he should spend his life protecting these great cats.
With more than 30 years of field experience, Rodney is now one of the world’s foremost experts on the snow leopard. He was the first to radio-collar a snow leopard and has spent countless hours tracking the cats through their rugged home.
In his early career, Rodney felt lucky to catch a glimpse of a snow leopard once every few years. That is now changing. On a February 2013 trip to Ladakh the group Rodney was accompanying had six snow leopard sightings in just four days.
Conservation Solutions
Tackling Wildlife Crime
Reducing Conflict
Scientific Research
Expanding Education
Boosting Local Economies
Guiding Policy
Honoring Culture
Protection from Poaching
Although it is illegal to trade in snow leopards or their body parts internationally, as the snow leopard has been included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), poaching is considered a key threat. SLC has worked to ensure all twelve range countries have laws that prohibit hunting or trading snow leopards.
Predator-Proof Corrals
To reduce conflict between snow leopards and livestock herds, SLC helps raise funds for “predator-proof” corrals. A predator-proof corral must have sturdy, high walls and must have the top covered by an impenetrable material, usually chain link fencing, preventing snow leopards from leaping over the walls and entering the corral. This prevents the loss of livestock and reduces the retaliatory killing of snow leopards.
Monitoring the Mountains
The Snow Leopard Conservancy pioneered the use of non-invasive, remotely-triggered camera traps to document snow leopards in the Himalayas. They also use radio-telemetry and fecal genotyping to gather detailed information on habitat preferences, movement patterns, prey densities, and social interactions. This allows SLC to better estimate snow leopard population size and conservation interventions.
Rangewide Education Programs
SLC currently works across eight snow leopard range countries with local communities to provide locally led education programs. In Mongolia, SLC’s partners created an innovative “Nomadic Nature Trunk” program, a mobile education project that brings activity-based instruction in natural sciences and environmental conservation to rural Mongolian schools and communities.
Himalayan Homestays
SLC’s Himalayan Homestays are village-based immersions that share traditional ways of life in the high Himalayas with travelers. Homestays are a prime example of eco-friendly and socially responsible tourism, providing the visitor with a once in a lifetime memory and their host a means to generate substantial income. This changes local peoples’ perceptions of the snow leopard from a pest into an asset, better alive than dead.
Bishkek Declaration
SLC helped draft the Bishkek Declaration with leaders across the governments of snow leopard range states: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These leaders have to come together as the custodians of the world’s snow leopards and the valuable high-mountain ecosystems they inhabit, with the shared goal of conserving snow leopards and their fragile habitats.
Land of the Snow Leopard Network
The Land of the Snow Leopard Network is a coalition of Indigenous Cultural Practitioners (ICPs) who live and work in snow leopard habitat. The network merges western science with traditional ecological knowledge, empowers ICPs to be co-leaders in conservation, revitalizes ancient ceremonies to honor the snow leopard, and establishes sacred sites as snow leopard education centers.
Tackling Wildlife Crime
Protection from Poaching
Although it is illegal to trade in snow leopards or their body parts internationally, as the snow leopard has been included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), poaching is considered a key threat. SLC has worked to ensure all twelve range countries have laws that prohibit hunting or trading snow leopards.
Reducing Conflict
Predator-Proof Corrals
To reduce conflict between snow leopards and livestock herds, SLC helps raise funds for “predator-proof” corrals. A predator-proof corral must have sturdy, high walls and must have the top covered by an impenetrable material, usually chain link fencing, preventing snow leopards from leaping over the walls and entering the corral. This prevents the loss of livestock and reduces the retaliatory killing of snow leopards.
Scientific Research
Monitoring the Mountains
The Snow Leopard Conservancy pioneered the use of non-invasive, remotely-triggered camera traps to document snow leopards in the Himalayas. They also use radio-telemetry and fecal genotyping to gather detailed information on habitat preferences, movement patterns, prey densities, and social interactions. This allows SLC to better estimate snow leopard population size and conservation interventions.
Expanding Education
Rangewide Education Programs
SLC currently works across eight snow leopard range countries with local communities to provide locally led education programs. In Mongolia, SLC’s partners created an innovative “Nomadic Nature Trunk” program, a mobile education project that brings activity-based instruction in natural sciences and environmental conservation to rural Mongolian schools and communities.
Boosting Local Economies
Himalayan Homestays
SLC’s Himalayan Homestays are village-based immersions that share traditional ways of life in the high Himalayas with travelers. Homestays are a prime example of eco-friendly and socially responsible tourism, providing the visitor with a once in a lifetime memory and their host a means to generate substantial income. This changes local peoples’ perceptions of the snow leopard from a pest into an asset, better alive than dead.
Guiding Policy
Bishkek Declaration
SLC helped draft the Bishkek Declaration with leaders across the governments of snow leopard range states: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These leaders have to come together as the custodians of the world’s snow leopards and the valuable high-mountain ecosystems they inhabit, with the shared goal of conserving snow leopards and their fragile habitats.
Honoring Culture
Land of the Snow Leopard Network
The Land of the Snow Leopard Network is a coalition of Indigenous Cultural Practitioners (ICPs) who live and work in snow leopard habitat. The network merges western science with traditional ecological knowledge, empowers ICPs to be co-leaders in conservation, revitalizes ancient ceremonies to honor the snow leopard, and establishes sacred sites as snow leopard education centers.
Impact by the Numbers
11
snow leopards released back into the wild after preyed on livestock
Land of Snow Leopard continued their education initiatives with local Tajikistan communities, resulting in less retaliatory killings of snow leopards
500
village members were helped by SLC by finding alternative livelihoods
News & Stories
Capturing the Sacred Beauty of Snow Leopards
Tulgazana Darikhuu perched on a rocky outcrop, scanning the ridges for movement. His sheep milled about below him as he... Learn More
Reviving Spiritual Ties to Snow Leopards
Firuz was caught somewhere between surprise and horror. It was early, he had just begun his morning routine, starting with... Learn More
A Snapshot of the Fall 2018 Wildlife Conservation Expo
October in San Francisco signals the return of our flagship Wildlife Conservation Expo, providing wildlife enthusiasts with the opportunity to... Learn More
A Status Update for Snow Leopards is a Call for Cautious Celebration
With snow leopards being listed from Endangered to Vulnerable by the IUCN, what does it mean for the future of... Learn More
Conservation's New Lights
When wild animals attack livestock, it can often be deadly—both for the livestock and for the wildlife involved. Livestock owners... Learn More
4 Ways Helping People is Saving Rare Wildlife
This article, originally posted on news.nationalgeographic.com, features five WCN Conservation Partners who work with people to save wildlife. Learn More
Going to India to Save the Andean Cat
Nicolás Lagos spends much of his time in the rugged Andes Mountains of Chile, where he works with the Andean Cat... Learn More
Pallas's Cat Found for the First Time in Nepal
Exciting camera trap images from Snow Leopard Conservancy’s Nepal team show that Pallas’s cats are living in Nepal. Although the Pallas... Learn More
Snow Leopard Collared in Mongolia
By B.Munkhtsog, Irbis Mongolia/Mongolian Academy of Science It seems like only a few days ago that we invited Dr. Rodney Jackson... Learn More
Snow Leopards: An Iconic Species in Need of Your Help
Found in one of the few remaining wild places on earth—the rugged and stark mountains of Central Asia—the snow leopard... Learn More
Snow Leopard on the Roof
When Mongolian herder D. Ganbat and his family came out of their ger (the nomadic tent where they live) on... Learn More
Taking Technology Out in the Cold: Working to Conserve Snow Leopards
Taking technology out in the cold: working to conserve snow leopards Learn More
Three New Snow Leopard Subspecies Discovered
In a major scientific breakthrough, a team of researchers have discovered that there are three subspecies of the snow leopard,... Learn More
Wildlife on Camera—Snow Leopards
Tracking the Ghost Cat of the Himalayas- Snow leopards depend on technology to study this elusive cat in the harsh environment of... Learn More
Photography Credits: Eric Ash, Snow Leopard Conservancy, Maria Azhunova, Sarkori Davlatmamadov