For more 30 years, Woodland Park Zoo has had a special
connection with snow leopards: 29 have been born
here since 1972, and there has been considerable
scientific work done at the zoo to improve their
captive management.
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Snow
Leopard Survival Summit
Following the Snow Leopard Survival Summit, hosted by WPZ in 2002, the Snow Leopard
Survival Strategy (SLSS) emerged in fall 2003. SLSS is a collaborative document
that incorporates data, strategies and observations of more than 65 of the world’s
leaders in snow leopard conservation.
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Snow
leopards are endangered throughout their range in the high
mountains of Central Asia, in part due to increasing
human encroachment into their habitat and the demand for
snow leopard parts used in medicine and fashion. The SLT
quickly recognized that its ultimate success would involve
the input of the indigenous residents living in snow leopard
habitats. Through a balanced approach that considers the
needs of the local people and the environment, SLT is committed
to the conservation of the snow leopard and its ecosystem.
SLT’s
Snow Leopard Enterprises project helps native herders turn
their wool into marketable products that can
be sold for a much higher profit than the wool alone. Currently,
more than 300 people from 200 households in Mongolia participate,
and the program expanded into Pakistan in 2003. This program
puts the destiny of communities into their own hands by encouraging
a sustainable trade in handicrafts work and rewarding anti-poaching
activities. Monitoring of snow leopards continues in India,
Pakistan and Mongolia (via cooperation with the Peace Corps),
thereby enabling researchers to understand what is happening
to the population and to prioritize help. The SLT’s
Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS) helps
to increase the impact of field research by creating one
worldwide location to store snow leopard data which allows
for comparative study.
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Following
the Snow Leopard Survival Summit, hosted by WPZ in 2002,
the Snow Leopard Survival
Strategy (SLSS) emerged in fall 2003. SLSS is a collaborative
document that incorporates data, strategies and observations
of more than 65 of the world’s leaders in snow leopard
conservation. The SLSS was involved in pushing through a
Decision on Asian Cats at the last Conference of Parties
to CITES in 2002. The Decision recommends that all parties
report back on the steps they are taking to protect Asian
big cats and, in particular, how local communities can benefit
from the presence of these species. The report from Afghanistan
is brief but it is the first time that that country has reported
since it joined in 1986.
The
number of conservation education programs presented continues
in all areas, including the
Corral Improvement Project in
India, which helps reduce the need for retribution killing
of snow leopards by providing better protection of local
herders’ livestock. Also in India, the groundwork
for a long-term high mountain biology program was laid
out and
the implementation of a livestock insurance program had
a successful first year.
Supported
since 1981 |
Central
Asia
