The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for releasing a final rule today that provides additional Endangered Species Act protections for imperiled African elephants.

The Biden administration has released three Endangered Species Act regulations that reinstate some critical protections for imperiled species and their habitats, yet fail to reverse many of the dangerous rollbacks implemented by the previous administration.

The science you support protects snow leopards! Every research finding, be it on disease risks, home range size, diet, livestock depredation, dispersal, etc., helps inform conservation policy. Below are just a few of our more significant learnings. Conserving Habitat Through GPS tracking, we’ve found that snow leopards use significantly larger home ranges than previously believed, which means existing protected areas are too small to support viable populations. Our work with snow leopard country governments through the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection program has resulted in a commitment to protecting a quarter of the global snow leopard habitat and promoting human-snow leopard coexistence across 23 mountainous landscapes. Preserving Genetic Diversity Data from our long-term study indicate that the biggest threat to genetic exchange between snow leopard populations is posed by border fences and other infrastructure that can fragment populations. A recent paper by Snow Leopard Trust scientists shows that even though snow leopards do not settle in flat steppe habitats, these areas can serve as important travel corridors that connect populations. Understanding how landscapes affect animal movements is critical to advocating for conservation of these important corridors and improving genetic diversity. Identifying Risks & Solutions Compared to other big cats, our findings show that snow leopards are uniquely vulnerable because females don’t typically reproduce until the relatively late age of 3-4 years and only give birth at two-year intervals. This means that the small populations of snow leopards, occurring at low densities, could be more susceptible to catastrophic declines. Reduced prey density, disease or intensified poaching, can therefore pose much greater extinction risks to snow leopards than previously thought. The more we understand about these vulnerabilities the better we can shape conservation efforts to protect this magnificent cat. To stay up to date on our latest research findings, sign up for our monthly E-News.  Below are just a few of the research papers our teams have published in international peer-reviewed journals. These publications provide insights into snow leopard ecology, genetics, habitat suitability, disease risks, conservation strategies, climate change impacts, human societies and community conservation initiatives across the major mountain ranges of Asia. Increasing risks for emerging infectious diseases within a rapidly changing High Asia.  Guidelines for telemetry studies on snow leopards.  Detection and genetic characterization of viruses present in free-ranging snow leopards using next-generation sequencing.  Keeping predators out: testing fences as a means to reduce livestock depredation at night-time corrals.  Health and zoonotic infections of snow leopards Panthera uncia in the South Gobi desert of Mongolia.  Identification errors in camera-trap studies result in systematic population overestimation.  The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs.  Natal dispersal and exploratory forays through atypical habitat in the mountain-bound snow leopard.  Photo credit: Prasenjeet Yadav The post Celebrating 15 Years of Groundbreaking Science appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

But we couldn’t keep her safe without the help of community rangers like Enkhburen (Buren) Nyam. Buren has lived his entire life in the Tost mountain region. He has a connection to this land and a passion for protecting it and the wildlife who share it with him. He once considered snow leopards a threat to his family’s livelihood. Today, he is an award-winning Conservation Hero, protecting Mongolia’s most studied population of snow leopards, including several females like Presnel who have successfully raised multiple generations. “I saw my first snow leopard with my father when I was 7 or 8 years old. It was far away, but we could see it clearly. My childhood image of a snow leopard is of a cat with a long furry tail who always walks away stealthily. Living with snow leopards can sometimes be difficult for our way of life. It’s better now, but some issues remain as we try to coexist. Livestock are an important resource for a herder’s living. When cats attack their livestock it leads to conflict. But, we are striving to mitigate the losses. These are some of the world’s most endangered cats and I’m proud to share this land with them.” ~ Buren Nyam Your gifts provide rangers with equipment, training and support to patrol the Tost Nature Reserve for illegal activity. You make it possible for them to share best practices with herders to protect their livestock from predators and help establish community-run livestock insurance programs. These local conservation initiatives are critical to promoting coexistence with snow leopards. When people thrive, snow leopards can too. Your support means we can: Build predator-resistant corrals to keep more livestock safe and foster coexistence Install research cameras so rangers can better monitor and protect snow leopards Provide vital ranger equipment, including GPS units, laptops and binoculars Presnel has been part of our research study for many years now and has had three litters of cubs. Our community ranger initiatives are working to keep both her and any livestock she encounters safe. These programs are a lifeline to snow leopards and the communities who share their habitat.  Will you help us expand our community ranger program to protect more snow leopards? Please make a gift today. Our field teams recently shared that Presnel’s nearly-grown cubs separated from their mother in February and are now searching for their own territories to call home. Your donation will help ensure this new generation of snow leopards can find mates and raise their young in a place where cats and people can coexist. The post This little cub is a mother now. appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Given their adaptations to life in cold conditions, we expect snow leopards to be able to weather these conditions over the short term. However, their prey populations are likely to be affected because their forage plants are blanketed by snow and ice. Many of you have reached out regarding these extreme winter conditions, also known as a dzud. Our Mongolia team has connected with our partner communities and determined that their livestock losses are significant. Our initial response was to offer support by provisioning hay for their remaining livestock to survive the dzud period. However, the Mongolian government has helped the communities considerably by providing livestock feed, and we applaud this timely action. With immediate needs taken care of, our team is now discussing with our community partners how we can help enhance their resilience against such climate shocks in the future. We hope to begin implementing a comprehensive strategy by early next year.   Our existing conservation-linked livelihood programs are largely ecosystem-based and founded on the sustainable use of those ecosystem services. They involve diversification of income, which allows the risk to livelihoods to be spread across multiple sources. This strategy is expected to help improve the resilience of vulnerable communities as the intensity and frequency of extreme climatic events and other threats increase. Our annual monitoring of snow leopard prey, including ibex and argali, will help us understand the extent to which wild prey have been affected by the dzud. We will provide an update as we make progress. We’re grateful for your concern and unwavering support. Photo credit: D. Otgonbaatar  The post Statement about Mongolia’s Ongoing Climate Disaster appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Engaging women in conservation efforts can lead to improved and more equitable outcomes. However, most conservation programs build upon existing community structures, where men tend to be in charge and women’s input can be easily overlooked. If community-based conservation programs do not incorporate women’s voices adequately during planning and implementation, it could compromise the effectiveness of the conservation efforts and reinforce existing gender disparities. Our team of researchers recently brought attention to this concern and focused on two case studies in Mongolia and India, where Snow Leopard Trust has been conducting community-based conservation initiatives for over 15 years. Agvaantseren Bayarjargal is our Regional Conservation Program Manager and co-author of the paper. She says: “Enhancing the role of women in snow leopard conservation has been one of my life’s missions. Our paper shows the gender-segregated roles of men and women in societies, and reiterates the critical importance  of incorporating women’s ideas, needs, and contributions in conservation.” The two case studies describe different approaches that can be followed to leverage women’s unique and important experiences, knowledge, and skills for biodiversity conservation in snow leopard landscapes. For example, the role of women in India’s Kibber Village in managing irrigation means they have specialized knowledge about water, a crucial resource threatened by climate change, and can make informed decisions about their community’s sustainable water usage. In Tost, Mongolia, women have pursued conservation-linked jobs that diversify family income and can shore up their conservation leadership, as well as improve their resilience against drought or extreme climatic events. In Mongolia, there are encouraging signs that women are in key positions to influence snow leopard conservation, such as directorships of multiple protected areas. Women in Tost have also become more active in conservation-related decisions by pursuing roles in the local government – comprising 33% of elected officials in the Gurvantes District where Tost is located. Click to view slideshow. Communities across the high mountains of Asia are being exposed to globalization, changes in land use, new market forces and new information and ideas. Climate change is also adding new pressures on this ecosystem, putting livelihoods and wellbeing – as well as snow leopards and other wildlife – at risk. New opportunities and aspirations for women are emerging alongside these changes, and conservation practitioners must ensure that their conservation efforts are gender-inclusive and strongly incorporate the roles of women.  Read the full paper titled: Applying a gender lens to biodiversity conservation in High Asia here. You can help expand access to women-led community-based conservation initiatives by donating today. Photo credits: Fidget Films and SLCF-Mongolia Acknowledgments: Special thanks to the Tost and Kibber communities and the women who participated in the study, as well as the Government of Gurvantes, South Gobi and the Tost Tosonbumba Nature Reserve.  SLT would also like to acknowledge:  People’s Trust for Endangered Species, IKI Small Grants Project – GIZ. The post Women in Conservation appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

Understanding how landscapes affect animal movements is critical for effective conservation and management. From a snow leopard’s perspective, a landscape is variable and consists of steep hills or flat valleys, areas rich or poor in prey abundance, areas that have good or poor hunting sites, etc. Individual animals settle in areas that fit their needs. However, when young individuals disperse from the area where they were born, they may need to travel through terrain that is unsuitable, such as areas with no water or poor in prey abundance. Knowledge of how different landscape features affect snow leopards’ ability to move around can help identify important corridors between mountains and assess how connected the populations are. In the paper, the researchers describe the independent movements of three young snow leopards that crossed long distances on the steppe (vast flat grassy plains) in their attempts to reach the next mountainous habitat. If you’re a snow leopard, the landscape surrounding the Tost Mountains, our study area in South Gobi of Mongolia, can be compared to an archipelago where the mountains constitute suitable islands and the surrounding steppe represents the unsuitable sea.  While crossing the steppe, the snow leopards typically traveled at night, and moved more than six times faster than they do in the mountains. This behavior indicates that snow leopards perceive the flat steppe as dangerous, hence the need to travel fast under the cover of darkness. The longest distance a snow leopard traveled in the steppe was almost 160 km. One snow leopard traveled south towards the border between Mongolia and China, where it appears to have encountered a border fence it was unable to cross, illustrating how linear infrastructure like border fences or fenced railway tracks can isolate snow leopard populations. A fascinating finding of this research is that the dispersing snow leopards traveled towards the next  mountain range that was visible from their departure points in Tost. This suggests that relatively undisturbed flat areas themselves may not be isolating snow leopard populations, as dispersing snow leopards can cross long distances on the steppe, provided that there are visible mountains to aim for at their departure points. On the other hand, human-built structures such as fences hinder their movements and can cause populations to get disconnected and fragmented. This study underscores the importance of a landscape approach when working to conserve species such as snow leopards that have extensive spatial requirements. Even though the steppe is not a habitat for snow leopards, in the sense that they do not settle there, it can serve as an important travel corridor that connects populations. Linear infrastructure like fences, roads and mining developments fragment the landscape and can disrupt the natural movement of snow leopards and their prey, and must be planned carefully.   The full paper titled: Natal dispersal and exploratory forays through atypical habitat in the mountain-bound snow leopard can be read here.  Sign up for our monthly E-News to get all the latest snow leopard conservation updates. Photo credits: SLCF-Mongolia Acknowledgments: We are thankful to the Ministry for Environment and Green Development, the Government of Mongolia, and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences for supporting our work. We thank the Disney Conservation Fund, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, National Geographic Society, and the Whitley Fund for Nature for their support. The post Where the wild things go appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

What is GSLEP? GSLEP is a first-of-its-kind intergovernmental alliance comprised of environment ministers from all snow leopard range countries. Snow Leopard Trust was instrumental in creating and supporting this path-breaking model of cooperative nature conservation.  This 13th steering committee meeting will bring together environment ministers from snow leopard range countries, representatives from partner organizations and international financial institutions to discuss the current status of snow leopard conservation.  Sessions will focus on climate action and adaptation support for local and indigenous communities and snow leopard conservation, the ethical conservation movement, transboundary cooperation, innovative conservation financing mechanisms, and sustainable practices in linear infrastructure. And the snow leopard will be promoted as an international icon of climate resilience. Why focus on climate adaptation programs? The high mountains of Asia known as Earth’s Third Pole, provide water to support a third of humanity. It is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, with the rate of warming expected to be twice that of the Northern Hemisphere. Melting glaciers, extreme events, changing seasonal patterns and enhanced risk of diseases are putting the region’s people and wildlife populations at greater risk. Climate Adaptation strategies are urgently needed for the communities that have a high dependence on ecosystem services.  According to a GSLEP representative, “While the world is aware of the plight of the North and South Poles, the “Third Pole” – Asia’s high mountains – faces a silent crisis. The endangered snow leopard is the symbol of the importance and vulnerability of the Third Pole. This magnificent species has brought all our nations together to collaborate for conservation and climate action in Asia’s high mountains under the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program.”  During this week’s sessions, representatives from our team will ask environmental ministers and political leaders across snow leopard range countries to take the following actions: Strengthen efforts to protect snow leopards and turn this iconic mountain species into the international symbol of climate resilience across the Earth’s Third Pole. Implement climate-resilient livelihood and income development programs for local and indigenous communities linked to people’s well-being and conservation of snow leopards. Strengthen disease and healthcare management in snow leopard habitats to minimize disease risks for people, livestock and wildlife. Ensure that economic and infrastructure development in mountain ecosystems are sensitive to the needs of snow leopards and their habitat. Thank you for answering the call to protect snow leopards and the people who live alongside them by signing and sharing the petition. Your voice matters for snow leopards and for humanity. Thank you to the generous sponsors for supporting the 13th GSLEP Steering Committee Meeting. Hosted by: Ministry of Ecology, Environment Protection and Climate Change, Government of Uzbekistan and the Secretariat of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program Supported by: International Snow Leopard Trust, United Nations Environment Program, World Wildlife Fund, United States Agency for International Development, and Peace Nexus Foundation Photo credit: Tashi R. Ghale The post Snow leopards have the power to unite people and bring nations together appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

The Women for Snow Leopards project will train local women to monitor and estimate snow leopard populations in their region. Understanding population size and trends is critical to evaluating threats and solutions to help inform global conservation efforts to protect these endangered cats. Read Deepshikha’s first-hand account below.  “I visited Kibber village in October to start training women for winter camera trapping. (no physical trapping, only motion-activated research cameras) We spent 5 days training and setting up camera traps in the landscape around Kibber. The cameras were active for the duration of winter. http://snowleopard.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Deepshikha-WhatsApp-Video-2024-01-12-at-18.40.18.mp4 During the workshop, we discussed how camera trapping is an essential tool for population estimation of species. We learned how to set up, place, and monitor a camera trap and how to use a GPS device. Then we went out in the field and placed the camera traps in 10 locations across the village pastures, where we observed signs of snow leopard-like scat, scraps or scent markings.  Ten women participated in the workshop and are now part of the core camera trapping team in Kibber Village. The youngest is 27 years old and the oldest is 53. Of the ten women, two do not have any formal education and one is a college graduate. However, all of them participated equally. The older women also shared some interesting folk tales about the animals found in their landscape. They were also more knowledgeable about the landscape and guided the younger participants. The younger, more formally educated women helped the older women navigate some technical aspects of the camera traps. It was wonderful to see them partner with and help each other. Although we had initially planned to remove the camera traps, the team decided to replace the batteries and memory cards in the cameras while keeping them in the same locations. We have now obtained our first set of photos captured by our camera traps!”  Deepshikha and the team will soon begin instruction on “tagging” their captured photos. Tagging is the practice of identifying the species captured and adding that information to the images. After that, Deepshikha expects to work with her team to develop the skills necessary to review the photos using a laptop. They will discuss the ethics of camera trapping (and how to avoid ethical quandaries where possible) and potentially even work with the women to learn how to identify snow leopard individuals captured on camera. This program is so successful that a neighboring village already has an interested group of women eager to be the region’s next team of camera trappers. Sign up for our monthly E-News to stay up to date on this exciting program and other snow leopard conservation news. Deepshikha’s Conservation Nation Fellowship was made possible with the support of Catmosphere.org, a foundation dedicated to raising awareness for crucial work in Big Cat conservation. Photo credits: NCF-India The post Women for Snow Leopards appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.

When are snow leopards old enough to breed? Based on data available from the wild, it appears that female snow leopards are ready to have their own cubs by age 3 or 4. Male snow leopards are likely sexually mature by age 2 or 3 but are not big or experienced enough to defend a territory until they are around 4 years old. Therefore they likely don’t participate in mating until this age.  http://snowleopard.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/mongolia_tost_2022.11.27_SLT190_prenel-cubs_video.mp4 How do snow leopards find each other in such vast and remote habitat? Female home ranges are generally centered on the border between two or more males, providing them with a choice as to which of the overlapping males to mate with. Scent marking is likely important before mating season as the cats need to show where they are, who they are, etc. These also serve as territorial markings so they are needed year-round. Vocalizations occur in mating season, but we don’t know how common they are. It is windy in the mountains and the cats can probably not hear sounds from too far a distance. Though to find a cat within, say 500 m – 1 km, they are likely useful. http://snowleopard.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/RCNX0083.mp4 Video: snow leopard scent marking When do snow leopards typically mate? Mating season for wild snow leopards is between January and March. During this time, a male and a female will travel together for a few days and copulate. We have four instances when GPS-collared males and females traveled together during the mating season. These lasted between 1 and 8 days. Most likely, the 1-day occasion is an underestimate. It could be that one of the collars did not take locations as programmed or that another, unmarked, cat came in and pushed one of the collared cats away, as it seems rather short. But we don’t know for sure.  In one of those instances, the mating pair of snow leopards were together for four days in early March. Most of the time, they were not more than 10 meters away from each other. Three months after that, the female started to decrease her home range size and two weeks later, we found her den site where she had a small cub.  Interestingly, one February, while following GPS signals from collared female F12, Gustaf noticed signs of two cats walking on the same track for quite a while. “It was F12 and male M15. Then I came across what I think were signs in the snow of two cats mating. I can’t be sure, but the timing and the situation make it likely.” Do snow leopards hunt cooperatively when they are together for mating? The average interval between snow leopard kills is 8 days though it is not uncommon for cats not to kill anything for 14 days. It would not be unusual if they didn’t hunt during the time they are together for mating. Though, if an opportunity presented itself, I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to make a kill.  What is the gestation period for female snow leopards? The female is typically pregnant for 90-105 (mean 96) days before retiring to a sheltered den site and giving birth to her cubs between April and July (the mean date for the litters we have studied is June 3). The mother raises her offspring alone, providing food and shelter for her cubs. The cubs open their eyes when they are around seven days old. Between one and three cubs are usually born in each litter. Do male snow leopards pose a threat to young snow leopard cubs? In many other large carnivore species, it has been shown that females mate with several males. It is suggested that this is a way to reduce the risk of infanticide (males killing offspring). We do not think that infanticide is common in snow leopards because they have a fixed mating season, and males and females are very similarly sized, implying that females could protect their cubs with aggression. We suspect that in the event that a male killed the cubs, the female would not come into oestrus again (until the next mating season). Though again, we do not know this for sure.  How long do cubs stay with their mothers? Cubs typically remain with their mother until their second winter (20–22 months of age), when they start moving away and leave their mother for a few days at a time. This initiation of independence appears to coincide with their mother mating again. In our research, two female cubs remained in their mothers’ territory for several months after the initial separation, whereas the male cub quickly dispersed. When examined across 11 Felid species in relation to their body size, it was clear that snow leopard cubs stay with their mothers longer than any other medium-to-large-sized cat. This may be related to their mating behavior and the difficulty juvenile snow leopards might face hunting their prey in steep terrain. For example, the mountainous habitat, low density and large size of the prey relative to their own body size could imply that snow leopard mothers may have fewer opportunities to release large prey for their cubs to practice successful hunting. This could be one of the factors contributing to young snow leopards becoming independent at an older age.  Female snow leopard with sub-adult cubs How does this research benefit snow leopard conservation? Reproductive data including breeding ages, mate selection, birth rates, sex ratios, litter sizes, dispersal ages, etc., are all critical to our work to protect snow leopards. These variables are largely unknown for wild snow leopards but essential for developing conservation actions to ensure this endangered cat’s future.  Photo credit: Lionel Falcao The post The Secret Love Lives of Wild Snow Leopards appeared first on Snow Leopard Trust.