Our Projects: Protecting the world's last snow leopards
DSWF supported since: 1997
NEWS: Sept - Nov 2011 Help secure a $20,000 grant for the project!
Unity and hope for a peaceful future
The snow leopard is an elusive member of the cat family living in the remote mountain ranges of central Asia. It is now critically endangered with experts estimating that numbers in the wild are as low as 3,500-7,000. They are killed by local herdsmen to protect their flocks and their fur and body parts are sold to the fur and traditional Chinese medicine trades.
DSWF
supports the work of the Snow Leopard Trust ( SLT
) which was set up to research and save these animals from the brink of extinction while developing management plans for their future conservation. In May 2002, 65 of the world's snow leopard experts met to draft and implement the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy which now forms part of a truly global conservation initiative.
In conjunction with this, SLT's
Snow Leopard Enterprises programme
assists local communities in Mongolia - encouraging them to actively benefit from their wildlife and value the snow leopard.
DSWF
has also funded the development of several new monitoring methods including remote automated cameras and genetic fingerprinting using DNA samples and, most recently, a ground-breaking radio-collaring study. This 15 year study is designed to gather exciting new information about these highly endangered cats and to enable scientists to truly understand and help protect them.
