SNOW LEOPARD (Panthera uncia)
Although the Snow Leopard is
internationally regarded and legally protected as an endangered species, currently there
exist no effective measures to stop poaching and loss of habitat in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Snow Leopard population of Jammu & Kashmir has increasingly come under pressure as
a result of poaching for furs, loss of habitat caused by deforestation and dam projects,
and loss of food sources caused by similar environmental pressures. In both Pakistan and
India-administered Jammu & Kashmir, this threat to the Snow Leopard has developed.
The armed conflict of the last 8 years in Jammu
& Kashmir has further exacerbated this problem as the soldiers and armed resistance
groups have shown little regard for species preservation. The instability has also
allowed for an illegal trade of furs. A 1994 raid on a group of traders in Srinagar that
hauled more than $1 million worth of furs and
garments made from 1,366 of the world's
most endangered wild cats, tigers, snow and clouded leopards and Bengal tigers indicated
that the lack of effective measures to preserve endangered species has deteriorated
further as a result of the 8 year old conflict. Cases like these reveal that the poaching
of wildlife in Jammu & Kashmir's forests and in other Himalayan regions has returned
with a vengeance that threatens some of the world's most beautiful and exotic animals
after a period of curtailment of such poaching in recent decades. Under
this situation, the Snow Leopard is directly threatened.
K.E.W.A. advocates that strict conservation measures be put in place in Pakistan and India-administered Jammu & Kashmir. Habitat protection, captive breeding, stiff penalties for poachers and international buyers of illegal furs, and public education must all be a part of such an undertaking to save the Snow Leopard. But such an effort would require major involvement of international organizations.
An assessment of the threat to the Snow Leopard
"That rarest and most beautiful of the great cats, the snow leopard...is wary and elusive to a magical degree, and so well camouflaged in the places it chooses to lie that one can stare straight at it from yards away and fail to see it." Yet the snow leopard's talent for invisibility has not kept it safely out of the sights of hunters, who continue to kill the cat for its "coat of pale misty gray, with black rosettes that are clouded by the depth of the rich fur". Elusiveness also has done little to help the snow leopard cope successfully with an ever-increasing influx of tourists, sheep herders, dam-builders, and other humans eager to make use of the spectacular landscape. The result is that the snow leopard, despite its remote home high in the Himalayas, has become one of the most endangered of the large cats. - Land of the Snow Leopard
More Information on the Snow Leopard:
Land of the Snow Leopard - Dr. Joseph Fox, University of Tromsų, Norway, is to lead a two month expedition this coming summer (1998) in the Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir. The expedition is looking for volunteers. Dr. Fox and his team will search for answers as to what the snow leopard needs in order to live in relative harmony with its human neighbors. This applied ecology project will lay the foundation for snow leopard conservation in Jammu & Kashmir and other Himalayan regions. K.E.W.A. appreciates this effort and wishes the upcoming expedition all the best.The International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT) Dedicated to the conservation of the endangered snow leopard and its mountain ecosystem through a balanced approach that considers the needs of the people and the environment. Since 1981, ISLT has worked on more than 90 projects with local populations throughout Central Asia in small, creative, and visible programs to make on-the-ground and long-lasting conservation happen.
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