Israel’s goals in Gaza.

The reality of 130,000 displaced Russians and a chaotic official response may begin to puncture the official line that Russia is steadily heading toward victory.

Turkish officials have bashed Israel and praised Hamas, complicating their country’s place in diplomacy aimed at ending the war.

The sabotage of the pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe has become one of the central mysteries of the war in Ukraine.

She is the oldest panda on record to give birth for the first time. Also unusual: the cubs were naturally conceived, a rarity for the vulnerable species.

Shola, who assisted with search-and-rescue operations in the U.K., has moved to her second act: saving other English Shepherds from blindness.

Just weeks ago, young protesters who opposed the prime minister were clashing with the police. Now, in effect, they are the police.

The Russian authorities said Aleksei A. Navalny had died of a grab bag of diseases, including heart arrhythmia triggered by hypertension.

Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo recently welcomed three snow leopard cubs. This is the first litter for Marai and Aibek, who were paired under a coordinated management program collaboratively implemented by accredited zoos. This cooperative breeding program is designed to maintain a genetically diverse population of snow leopards in captivity and eliminates any reason to capture these endangered cats from the wild. Our Founder, Helen Freeman, laid the foundation for such a program through her research and care of captive snow leopards in the 1970s. Snow Leopard Trust and Woodland Park Zoo have maintained the relationship begun by Helen through a shared commitment to the conservation of snow leopards in the wild, and her vision has expanded to include over 100 zoos worldwide. More recently, we have collaborated with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to help create a SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) initiative for snow leopards, which brings together zoo members and key conservation and research partners to protect these threatened species and their habitats. This initiative enables zoos to support the conservation of snow leopards in the wild and through programs focused on local communities where the species lives. By inspiring and empowering AZA members, guests and global partners, the Snow Leopard SAFE program strategically links on-the-ground community-based conservation initiatives in snow leopard range countries with the support of AZA members and partners. “It is so encouraging to join forces with the collective expertise within AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to leverage their massive audiences to save species. We hope that by connecting the AZA SAFE program to over 40 years of in situ conservation work by our team at Snow Leopard Trust, we can have an even larger impact on the conservation of snow leopards in the wild and the support of local communities where they live.” – Jennifer Snell Rullman, Senior Philanthropy Manager. Currently, Marai and her cubs are in a quiet maternity den, monitored closely by zoo staff via a den camera to ensure their well-being while minimizing disturbance. It will be several more weeks before the cubs are introduced to their outdoor exhibit. Other accredited zoo partners have also welcomed new snow leopard cubs in recent months under the SSP program, including Utah’s Hogle Zoo, John Ball Zoo, Toronto Zoo and Chester Zoo, to name a few. If you can, stop by and say hello to these newest and cutest additions to your local zoo and learn more about how zoos are prioritizing the conservation of their wild relatives. Did we miss any cubs? Let us know if an accredited zoo near you has also welcomed new snow leopard cubs this year! Sign up for our monthly E-News here to stay up to date on all the latest snow leopard conservation efforts. Snow Leopard Trust is grateful to partner with zoos around the world in a united effort to ensure the survival of the endangered snow leopard.  Photo credits: Woodland Park Zoo & Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, SLCF-Mongolia The post A Conservation Legacy That Goes Beyond Cute appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

In the spirit of co-creating solutions, Buren and our science team began a collaborative effort to design an expandable protective collar for growing foals to wear. The idea is that the collar will deter a predator, like a snow leopard, from administering the fatal neck or throat bite during an attack. As the project progressed, we also tested a commercial collar that has shown promise in protecting horses from wolves in France and common leopards in South Africa. This advanced collar features blinking lights and emits high-frequency sounds when the horse makes sudden movements. The collar’s stimuli continuously change to prevent predators from becoming accustomed to them. Buren, (above with Assistant Director of Science Dr. Gustaf Samelius) is an experienced Mongolian herder and ranger who was awarded the Disney Conservation Hero award in 2021. He was one of only 15 recipients worldwide recognized for his efforts to protect the planet. While still in the testing and development phase, this project has already shown encouraging results. We’re pleased to report that Buren’s foal survived the season thanks to some initial prototypes. If proven effective long-term, these protective measures could become a crucial component of our conservation efforts. Reducing livestock losses is vital for snow leopard conservation. By addressing this challenge, we hope to foster greater community acceptance and tolerance of snow leopards and wolves. This pilot project exemplifies our commitment to developing practical, locally-driven solutions that benefit both wildlife and local communities. And now for the Citizen Science portion of this project. We thought it would be fun to invite you to step into the creative engineering space. What would you design to protect a growing young horse from snow leopards? This could be an engaging activity to do with kids too! Your invention will need to use items readily available in remote snow leopard habitat. Think outside the box. Sketch your design. And add any explanation you think will help describe your idea.  You can email a description and/or a sketch or photo of your idea to connect@snowleopard.org using Collar Prototype in the subject line for the chance to be featured on our social media channels. You can also share your concepts in the comments. There are no bad ideas in a brainstorm! Remember, ingenuity and community partnerships are central to all we do. We’re excited to see what you come up with. This story ran in our print newsletter issue number #146. Thanks to those who already sent in their creative ideas! Acknowledgments: Thank you to David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation for their long-term conservation partnership. The post How Do You Save a Foal from a Snow Leopard? appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.