Conservation

Snow leopards are mammals that are becoming closer to extinction because of humans, hunting, habitat loss, declines in natural prey species. The other major impact on snow leopard survival is the climate crisis. Rising global temperatures can severely impact arctic tundra productivity which in turn can impact prey and source water availability in the harsh mountainous biome. Snow leopards are poached for the illegal trade. They have long been killed for their beautiful fur, but their bones and other body parts are also used in traditional medicine. Illegal trade seems to be increasing due to market demand for their parts. Snow leopards are often killed by local farmers and herders as a result of human-wildlife conflict, which occurs when the leopards prey on livestock such as sheep, goats, horses, and yak calves. They are forced to migrate into villages. The animals that snow leopards would typically hunt—such as the Argali and blue sheep—are also hunted by local communities. Snow leopards also lose out on habitat and food sources to livestock. As their natural prey becomes harder to find, snow leopards are forced to kill livestock for survival. The snow leopard habitat range continues to decline from the impacts of the climate crisis, human disturbance, and increased use of grazing space. This development increasingly fragments the historic range of the species.

Snow leopards are top predators in their environment. Without the snow leopard, the ecological balance would be disrupted. For example – herbivore populations will increase resulting in changes in the vegetation, that will affect other wildlife and also disrupt the important ecosystem services. Without the snow leopard, the Himalayan ecosystem will be negatively affected and this will impact the health of the rivers which is a source of fresh water.

The WWF is working with local communities to monitor snow leopards and reduce the retaliatory killing of them through supporting communities to install predator-proof pens for their livestock. The WWF is also working on awareness programs for students and communities including with goat herders in Mongolia to build awareness about the plight of the snow leopard to reduce the killing of snow leopards as retaliation for killing livestock. Through the Land of Snow Project, the WWF aims to secure key areas of snow leopard habitat in Mongolia . As of last year the WWF wrote an arctile about the snow leopard population in Mongolia https://sites.google.com/d/1b7BtoqQehWEl1kNP7pfRnDUNbYnvNzol/p/139Nw7HB-uDsStathZgw5352gNY4QbBJx/edit. You can read about it here.

The IUCN states that very significant investments in conservation have been made. These include: establishment of new protected areas within the Snow Leopard range; anti-poaching measures; training and capacity-building; initiatives to reduce conflict with herders, community engagement programs; illegalization and confiscation of firearms across China, and education programs to raise awareness of the Snow Leopard and its habitat .