Snow Leopard Trust

From the Snow Leopard Trust:

• For the fourth year in a row, we can say with very high confidence that ZERO snow leopards have been killed in areas where we work on the ground.
• Through community-based conservation programs, we reach around 5,500 families in five key range countries. The areas our partner communities help us keep safe for snow leopards add up to around 10% of the cat’s estimated global range. We estimate that these community-protected areas are home to between 400 and 600 snow leopards. 
• In 2016, after years of grassroots campaigning, the parliament of Mongolia declared Tost a State Nature Reserve. In 2017, the government ratified the Reserve’s boundaries, putting the parliament’s decision into action. This year, another key step was taken, as the government has bought back the last remaining mining licenses in the area. Now, Tost is officially safe from the threat of mining.
• In Kyrgyzstan, we discovered the first snow leopard cubs in the Shamshy Wildlife Sancturary. We’ve negotiated with the government to expand the protected area by more than fifteen times, adding two more former hunting concessions to it next year! This massive area will be free of any hunting and will provide a safe haven for wildlife for generations. In 2019, we’ll start working with local communities, authorities, entrepreneurs and investors to help the communities in this area jumpstart the local economy based on green, sustainable enterprise, driven by wildlife conservation.
• We’ve also begun a fascinating new phase of research: besides snow leopards, we’ve also started tracking wild ibex and domestic goats this year with GPS collars. This will allow us to understand the complex dynamics between predator, prey and livestock in the ecosystem.

Read more here.

Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) inhabit the mountains of 12 Central Asian countries, where they are able to brave harsh conditions thanks to physical characteristics such as short forelimbs and large paws for negotiating rocky and snowy terrain, long thick fur, and a long, thick, furry, and flexible tail that provides extra warmth when wrapped around the face and body.

But despite their remote habitat, snow leopards face multiple threats in the form of poachers seeking their fur and bones, a decline in their prey, human encroachment on their habitat, retribution killings by herders looking to protect their livestock, and mining activity in the mountains involving dangerous chemicals and explosives. Snow leopards are classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

The Snow Leopard Trust is the premiere organization working to protect the snow leopard from extinction by better understanding their behavior and habitat, collaborating with those who live and work near the habitat to create a better balance between conservation and community needs, and seeking resources to sustain long-term conservation programs. Zoo New England remains a proud member of the Trust’s Natural Partnership Program, contributing funds to support the organization’s highest priority conservation projects, including a long-term ecological study of snow leopards and their habitat in Mongolia and conservation education programs in India.

There are about 600 snow leopards living in zoos around the world. Among them are Stone Zoo's snow leopards, who can be seen roaming the Himalayan Highlands exhibit even on the coldest of winter days. Their Stone Zoo habitat is a naturalistic setting dominated by large rocky outcroppings. As with other large cats, you may hear them hiss, growl, moan, yowl or purr, but snow leopards do not roar.

Snow leopards are stocky, medium-sized cats, weighing between 60-120 pounds and measuring anywhere from 39-51 inches long—excluding their tails, which can grow to be almost as long as their bodies. Their smoky-gray fur, patterned with dark gray or black open rosettes can render them almost invisible in their rocky habitat.

They are secretive and lead largely solitary lives, except for mothers who are rearing cubs. Snow leopards are most active at dawn and dusk.

In the wild, snow leopards can live to be 13 years old. In zoos, their lifespan can be as long as 22 years.

For more on snow leopards, visit our Stone Zoo Animals page.