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Elusive snow leopard faces extinction

A Himalayan snow leopard in a Srinagar zoo in Jammu and Kashmir. The beautiful cat is gradually disappearing from the state as armed poachers hunt them for their rich coat and bones, increasingly being used in Chinese medicine.

     Srinagar: Poaching, loss of habitat and killing by herdsmen are fast wiping out the Himalayan snow leopard, one of the most elusive of the world's big cats from India's Kashmir, where a revolt against Indian rule has left little room for conservation efforts. That rarest and most beautiful of the great cats, the snow leopard is known to be elusive. But the beautiful cat's disappearing act has been no match for the armed poachers who hunt them for their rich coat and bones, increasingly being used in Chinese medicine.

      Poor herdsmen, who often suffer financial ruin if their already scarce livestock are preyed on by the snow leopards, are also esponsible for killing many of these highly endangered cats. The armed conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has further exacerbated the problem as the soldiers and guerrillas both show little regard for the species' conservation. "There has been an increase in the killing of the snow leopards in the area. As they move out of the forest region villagers kill them. Villagers try to scare them. If they don't do anything the cats will themselves return but then the villagers don't know that and they follow them, track them down and kill them," said Nizar Ahmed, a forest guard at the Dachigam National Park, one of the few safe havens for the cat located 32 km from main city Srinagar. Current estimates by the International Snow Leopard Trust say that a mere 3,500 to 7,000 of these wild cats are now left in the world, of which 600 to 700 are in zoos.

A dead Himalayan snow leopard in Srinagar

     International agencies say habitat protection, captive breeding, and stiff penalties for poachers and international buyers of illegal furs, and public education must all be a part of such an undertaking to save the snow leopard. "The wildlife department is not taking any effort or making the villagers aware of the leopard, how to deal with it when it is in their village. They do not have any network and are ill equipped to tackle a leopard when it comes into the area. Wildlife experts are often informed after days of leopard entering into a village," said Shabir Ahmed of Wildlife, a voluntary organisation working for snow leopard conservation. Worldwide snow leopards are found in the mountainous regions of Central Asia, China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan.
- Feb 18, 2005

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