Snow leopards : the beautiful cats threatened for existence (rare pictures, videos, behaviour, habitat)
The snow leopard, discreet and threatened feline
© Richard Bischof, Norwegian university of Life Sciences / Snow Leopard Foundation Pakistan
Reserved and away the wild snow leopard appear rather like. Researchers have filmed a few specimens in northern Pakistan, on inaccessible terrain.
The ounce ( Panthera uncia ), also known as leopard or snow leopard lives in the snowy mountains of Central Asia. Individuals, solitary and discreet, hiding both men and other animals.In part due to their thick fur, gray and spotted that allows the cat to blend into the alpine scenery.The carnivore then proves very difficult to spot, more to photograph or film.
Map of the area of habitat of the snow leopard.
Curious to learn more about this little-studied wild animal, Norwegian biologist Richard Bischof went asking cameras motion detectors and infrared flash in the snowy mountains of northern Pakistan.
" With this equipment, I could film the snow leopards of day or night , says Richard Bischof National Geographic Magazine. Their territory, located on icy and steep mountains, to be practical and accessible. I am working with local biologists: they help me track the feline, identifying its trace or feces. We maximized our chances and capture the image of carnivore. "
This study, non-intrusive, also allowed the scientist and his team to identify the number of people living in the region. How? Distinguishing the image the unique design of tasks that dot the fur of each specimen.
(HELP SAVE SNOW LEOPARDS, YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TOO : http://snowleopardconservancy.org/ )
(HELP SAVE SNOW LEOPARDS, YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE TOO : http://snowleopardconservancy.org/ )
The world population is estimated wild ounces between 4 000 and 6500 individuals. The species, whose territory stretches from Afghanistan to China, has already disappeared from some settlements, such as Mongolia. She is also on the list of endangered species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ).
Intensive hunts of the 1990s, Russia, the invasion of their land by cattle, prey depletion, poaching, their low reproductive rate ... These factors have contributed to the declining population of the snow leopard.
Find below the exceptional photographs of snow leopards by Steve Winter, for the National Geographic Magazine .
By Marie-Alves
How to photograph a ghost
Shy and solitary, snow leopards are particularly difficult to approach. To photograph, photographer Steve Winter has had to make a series of camera traps that operates automatically to the passage of the animal. This system follows a series of portraits of the wild and secret animal.
Mating, education and independence
Snow leopards sometimes waive their loneliness, to mate, for example. Mating occurs in late winter, then the female gives birth to her cubs, two or three on average and up to five. The mother raises them until they are independent by the age of 18 to 20 months.
The smell of loneliness
Rubbing, scratching, urine, feces ... Snow leopards mark their passage ways. These solitary demarcate their territory via registered odors, to avoid confrontation with their peers.
A well-equipped mountain
To cross the rugged mountains and endure the cold of its natural habitat, sometimes perched at 5500 meters, an ounce is well equipped: padded legs, a thick fur and lined with long hair and a large huge army chest lungs. With these, it absorbs enough air, rare at high altitude.
A bushy tail to keep balance
This bushy tail, almost as long as his body, using snow leopard to balance on the steep paths.
Marathon night
Some individuals are known to travel up to 40 miles across the desert peaks of the mountain, in one night!
A hunter can hunt
These predators help preserve the mountain ecosystem. How? Devouring, so maintaining or balancing the number of sheep and wild goats that otherwise would significantly reduce the alpine meadows.
An athletic body
With its long legs muscular rear, the snow leopard can jump to almost seven times the length of its own body. Almost nine meters high, since a specimen measuring between 1.0 and 1.3 meters.
FOLLOW: Snow Leopard Conservancy-India Trust (SLC-IT)
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Due to change in climatic conditions caused by human activities deteriorating nature and hunting, the number of snow leopards has fallen tremendously.
Apple Inc. featured this image of snow leopard as default wallpaper in their operating system Mac OS snow leopard edition.
Protected areas:
FOLLOW: Snow Leopard Conservancy-India Trust (SLC-IT)
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Due to change in climatic conditions caused by human activities deteriorating nature and hunting, the number of snow leopards has fallen tremendously.
Snow leopards prefer steep, rugged terrain with cliffs, ridges, gullies, and slopes interspersed with rocky outcrops. In Mongolia and Tibet the cats may inhabit relatively flat or rolling terrain if sufficient cover is present. In productive habitat in Nepal, a snow leopard’s home range varies from 12 to 39 km² (4.6 – 15 square miles). But in Mongolia with its open terrain and lower ungulate density, it is 500 km² or more (over 200 square miles). Densities range from less than 0.1 to 10 (or more) individuals per 100 km² (about 39 square miles) but current knowledge is insufficient for generating a reliable range-wide population estimate. The cat’s habitat is among the least productive of the world’s rangelands due to low temperatures, high aridity and harsh climatic conditions.
Total numbers are estimated at 4,500-7,500. Snow leopards are protected in nearly all countries under national and international laws. They are listed in Appendix 1 of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 1977), which sets strict regulations on export or import of animals or their body parts. Only Tajikistan is not signatory to the CITES agreement.
Up to a third of the snow leopard’s range falls along international borders, some of which are politically sensitive, complicating transboundary conservation initiatives. In fact, there have been several wars over the last 50 years, along with low-intensity factional or international conflicts that continue today in countries like Afghanistan. See the country pages of this website for the Snow Leopard Conservancy’s program areas.
Apple Inc. featured this image of snow leopard as default wallpaper in their operating system Mac OS snow leopard edition.
Quick Facts:
- There may be 4,500 – 7,500 snow leopards left in the wild
- Snow Leopards are confirmed to live in 12 countries of Central Asia.
- Their range covers 1.2-1.6 million sq. km. (463,000-618,000 sq. mi.)
- A snow leopard’s home range can be as little as 12 sq.km. (4.6 sq.mi.) in productive habitat, to 500 or more sq.km. in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia
- Up to a third of the snow leopard’s range falls along international borders. Relations between some of the countries are hostile, complicating conservation initiatives.
2015 designated International Year of the Snow Leopard
To help spread the word amongst the people, government authorities, and conservation groups in each range country, 2015 has been designated the International Year of the Snow Leopard as part of the GSLEPP's work. All range-country governments, nongovernmental and inter-governmental organizations, local communities, and various private sector businesses pledged to take the year as an opportunity to further work towards conservation of snow leopards and their high-mountain ecosystems
There are also approximately 600 snow leopards in zoos around the world.
| Range Country | Habitat Area (km2) | Estimated Population |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 50,000 | 100–200? |
| Bhutan | 15,000 | 100–200? |
| China | 1,100,000 | 2,000–2,500 |
| India | 75,000 | 200–600 |
| Kazakhstan | 50,000 | 180–200 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 105,000 | 150–500 |
| Mongolia | 101,000 | 500–1,000 |
| Nepal | 30,000 | 300–500 |
| Pakistan | 80,000 | 200–420 |
| Tajikistan | 100,000 | 180–220 |
| Uzbekistan | 10,000 | 20–50 |
Protected areas:
- Hemis National Park, in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India
- Khunjerab National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
- Nanda Devi National Park, in state of Uttarakhand, India, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site
- Qomolangma National Nature Preserve, Tibet, China
- Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
- Tumor Feng Nature Reserve, western Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China.
- Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand, India, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site
- Shey-Phoksundo National Park, Dolpa, Nepal
- Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Baglung, Nepal
- Annapurna Conservation Area, Western Nepal
- Api Nampa Conservation Area, Western Nepal
- Jigme Dorji National Park, Bhutan
- Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, Mongolia
- Ubsunur Hollow, on the territorial border of Mongolia and the Republic of Tuva, Russia
- Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, near Anini, India
- Aksu-Djabagly Nature Reserve, Kazakhstan
- Sarychat-Ertash State Nature Reserve, Kyrgyzstan
- Katun Nature Reserve, Russia
- Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Lahaul Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India
- Pin Valley National Park, Lahaul Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, India
- Great Himalayan National Park, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India
- Sacred Himalayan Landscape, Nepal, India, Bhutan
Much progress has been made in securing the survival of the snow leopard, with them being successfully bred in captivity. The animals usually give birth to two to three cubs in a litter, but can give birth to up to seven in some cases.
A "surprisingly healthy" population of snow leopards has been found living at 16 locations in the isolated Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan, giving rise to hopes for survival of snow leopards in that region.
Attacks on humans and livestock
Snow leopard attacks on humans are rare; only two instances are known. On July 12, 1940, in Maloalmaatinsk gorge near Almaty, a rabid snow leopard attacked two men during the day and inflicted serious injuries on both. In the second case, not far from Almaty, an old, toothless, emaciated snow leopard unsuccessfully attacked a passerby in winter; it was captured and carried to a local village.There are no other records of any snow leopard attacking a human being.
A 2008 Natural World episode, "Snow Leopard – Beyond the Myth", interviewed a couple with a goat farm in Pakistan; the woman was bowled over by snow leopard escaping an enclosure where it had been feeding on the livestock, but she was not attacked by the cat, despite fainting and being helpless. The film crew went to some lengths to demonstrate that the cat was primarily hunting wild prey and was often ranging far outside the area, as they hoped to prevent local farmers from shooting it. Nevertheless, they also found evidence of other sightings of the cats around nearby human settlements, and of repeated attacks on livestock (some of them unsuccessful). Predation of livestock by snow leopards has also been a subject of conservation journal papers
Documentary footage of the snow leopard is scarce. While such coverage would not be remarkable with regard to common species, wildlife video of the snow leopard is difficult to obtain due to the animal's rarity and the human inaccessibility of much of its natural habitat.
The BBC One TV series Planet Earth had a segment on snow leopards. The series took some of the first video of snow leopards in the wild, and also featured a snow leopard hunting a markhor.
Nisar Malik, a Pakistani journalist, and Mark Smith, a cameraman who had worked on the Planet Earth segment, spent a further 18 months filming snow leopards in the Hindu Kush for the BBC Two series Natural World episode "Snow Leopard – Beyond the Myth". The cat has been featured in segment of other episodes of the same series.
The PBS/WNET series Nature focused on the species in its episode "Silent Roar: Searching for the Snow Leopard".
Fictional Mentions
In the 2013 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, photojournalist Sean O'Connell (played by Sean Penn) is shown photographing snow leopards in Afghanistan.
In Philip Pullman's 1995 fantasy novel His Dark Materials, Lord Asriel's dæmon is a snow leopard named Stelmaria.
Tai Lung, the main antagonist of the 2008 film Kung Fu Panda is an anthropomorphized snow leopard.
HELP SAVE SNOW LEOPARDS : http://snowleopardconservancy.org/
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