DSWF - Snow leopard project

Welcome to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

		PROJECT: INTERNATIONAL SNOW LEOPARD TRUST

		Location: MONGOLIA
		DSWF Support: Since 1997
		Funding to date: £76,300

		Project Summary: To save the last surviving snow leopards in their remaining ranges and work with local communities to ensure they benefit directly from their wildlife rather than killing it.

Project update - September 2006

An ambassador from the wild brings a story of hope for China's snow leopards

For the old snow leopard, chasing an ibex through the rugged slopes of China's Tian Shan mountains was probably just too much effort - and his declining weight indicated that such hunts were rarely successful any more. Marmots and other small prey may have kept him going, but he needed something more and he knew where to find it. Dropping from the safety of his high mountain realm in Tomur Nature Reserve and into the valley where humans lived was a risk, but the table was spread for him there with domestic sheep and goats. In other words food that didn't know enough to run when he slid past the barking but harmless guard dogs. It was quick and easy, and a goat was his.

The herders saw things differently. The barking dogs brought them out in time to see the back of the old snow leopard as he dragged his prize into the cliffs above their camp. When the old cat came back 3 days later for another easy meal they were ready for him.

snow leopard project This is where the story usually goes very bad for the snow leopard. But not this time, not here in a valley adjacent to the Tomur Nature Reserve, where rangers have spent years trying to teach people that snow leopards are protected and can not be harmed even when they kill livestock. So instead of killing the old leopard, they followed the sound of the dogs who had chased the cat, still clutching its sheep dinner, up a tree. Sitting on a branch 3 meters up, the old cat had spent his energy in the kill and the attempted escape, and could do little more than spit and hiss weakly at the dogs below.

The herders, who had a clear opportunity to kill the cat at that point, instead went down the mountain and contacted local rangers, who quickly returned to the site. Hoping the cat was as weak as it looked they tossed a rope over the leopard and gently pulled him from his perch. He gave little resistance and the rangers easily picked him up bare handed and placed him in their car for the ride into Aksu, the nearby town and headquarters of the Tomur Nature Reserve.

snow leopard project With an ailing snow leopard on their hands the Tomur staff was uncertain what to do. No holding facility existed and there were no veterinarians in town with a clue what to do for the old animal. So a specialist was flown from the provincial capital (Urumqi) to examine him and a temporary space was made at a local clinic. With such care and medications (also flown in special) the cat made a surprisingly fast recovery and was moved to a larger and more fitting space at the Aksu Zoo. It was clear to all that this would have to be his permanent home, release back into the wild would likely end his life as he was too old and weak to hunt.

Word of the new zoo resident quickly spread and a local newspaper ran a contest to name the snow leopard. The name chosen means Visitor from the Snowy Mountains, and he has drawn nearly 20,000 visitors since he came to the zoo in April of this year. Now, living out his last years in a place where food is delivered, he serves as an ambassador for his wild cousins.

snow leopard project Tomur Nature Reserve is where the International Snow Leopard Trust is focusing its conservation work in western China. Rich in snow leopards and other mountain wildlife, we hope that Tomur will soon be a model for conservation which can be replicated around Xinjiang province and even other parts of China. The story of the old snow leopard shows there is hope. Even before we have had much impact on local attitudes, the people here seem to care about snow leopards. Where else would a poor herding family who had just lost two of its prized livestock call for helping in saving the predator responsible? Maybe we will be learning as much from them ass they do from us as our program moves forward with the assistance of the David Shepherd Conservation Foundation and their many supporters.