The Elusive Snow Leopard Fading Away, Forever?

Nick Jenkins

            Snow Leopard populations have decreased drastically throughout recent decades.  It is estimated that there are less than 2500 Snow Leopards left in the wild.  Their range spans from Afghanistan to Kazakstan and Russia in the north to India and China in the east. China contains about 60% of snow leopard habitat. They have already disappeared from certain parts of Mongolia, which is part of their historic range.  As a result of habitat of which Snow Leopards live in, not much is know about this elusive animal.  The Pakistani government does not allow foreign biologists to come in and preform tests.  Government officials of these nations are strict on the amount of access biologists have to study Snow Leopards.  The three key known threats to Snow Leopards are poaching, climate change, and human development.

            A Snow Leopards fur brings a high price at the fur trading market.  This makes the poaching more appealing to an average citizen of the regions where this animal lives.  The over harvest of this already highly endangered animal threatens the ecosystem of which it lives.  Snow Leopards are the only predator in its habitat.  The loss of Snow Leopards will lead to overpopulated mountain sheep of which it hunts.  The extinction of this majestic creature will create consequences that its ecosystem cannot afford. 

           

            Global warming is creating a loss of habitat for Snow Leopards.  The prime habitat for Snow Leopards is where the tree line ends and the snow line starts on the mountains.  The rising temperatures are resulting in the snow line decreasing.  This causes Snow Leopards to travel farther up the mountains away from the vegetation where their prey feeds.

            Human development is also creating large habitat loss for Snow Leopards.  As herders expand the range of their livestock, they move farther into Snow Leopard’s territory.  A Snow Leopards diet is mainly made up of wild sheep and goats but it also consists of yak, asses, pikas, marmots, hares, musk deer, birds and domestic livestock.  Snow Leopards, however, are also predators of opportunity.  They will hunt anything that they can easily obtain.  They will act as scavengers sometimes taking leftovers from another Snow Leopard’s kill.  Since Snow Leopards are so opportunistic this can cause problems with local herders because they will kill livestock.  These confrontations between man and Snow Leopard primarily occur during the winter months when food is hard to come by when there is a lot of snow.  In a study conducted by Bishnu Prasad Devkota of the Institute of Forestry in Pokhara, Nepal, the Himalayan Marmot is the primary source of food for Snow Leopards because their population has the highest density in Snow Leopards territory.  Himalayan Marmots hibernate in the winter.  This is one cause of Snow Leopards killing livestock of local herders.  The primary reason for these confrontations, however, is livestock are just easier prey for Snow Leopards.

            If biologists are now allowed to do more to help the diminishing Snow Leopards, they will become extinct.  The threats that are listed above are only the more broad threats.  Much more is needed to be known about this majestic species to ensure its survival.