SEATTLE — It’s a race against time for the splendid snow leopard. Because of the demand for snow leopard parts for use in traditional Asian medicines and human encroachment into their habitat range, snow leopards are endangered throughout their habitat in the high mountains of Central Asia.

Today, their numbers are in serious peril. Although it’s hard to estimate how many are left in the wild, due to the animal’s elusiveness, the number might be as few as 4,000.

Recognizing the rare cat’s plight, Woodland Park Zoo and Zoological Society recently joined the International Snow Leopard Trust’s Natural Partnerships Program at the "Country Partner" level, by contributing $10,000 to support the hiring of an in-country conservation officer in Pakistan. WPZ’s donation is the largest of any of the 11 member institutions that have joined the Trust’s Natural Partnerships Program, which began in June 1997.

Future plans are to hire one such officer for each of the 12 countries that snow leopards naturally inhabit. The officers will conduct field work leading to a field management plan for each nation’s snow leopard population, and attempt to reduce conflicts between these endangered cats and animal herders.

The zoo’s contribution is just the latest in its long association with the International Snow Leopard Trust. ISLT was founded in 1981 by former WPZ education curator, Helen Freeman, and is dedicated to the conservation of the endangered snow leopard and its mountain ecosystem through a balanced approach to the needs of the people and the environment.

ISLT Conservation Director Rodney Jackson has addressed zoo staff to discuss the Trust’s work to help save these endangered cats throughout Central Asia.

As a leader in endangered species conservation, Woodland Park Zoo is currently introducing its 13-year-old male snow leopard AndrŽ to 4-year-old Nadia, with high hopes the pair will breed. Nadia arrived from the Jackson Zoo in October 1996. The snow leopards, first introduced to one another two months ago, have not yet been observed mating. However, zookeeper James Scott feels confident they will breed, probably in late January or early February. This means the zoo could have cubs by spring, the first litter since 1991.

The American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommended this pair for breeding. SSPs are cooperative breeding programs among North American zoos to manage and expand the populations of endangered species, while ensuring genetic diversity and demographic stability.

Woodland Park Zoo actively participates in the snow leopard SSP and has had snow leopards since 1972. AndrŽ sired five cubs with his previous mate and the cubs have been transferred to zoos in Australia, Canada, England and throughout North America to diversify the captive population. Woodland Park Zoo collaborates with other zoos to study snow leopards and improve reproductive techniques.