International Snow Leopard Day today

Islamabad :Seeing as how wildlife has been dwindling all over the world, preserving whatever is left of it has become a priority with those who interested in saving it for future generations.

International Snow Leopard Day is being observed today (Monday) will be marked by NGO’s and governments. In Islamabad an awareness campaign has been organised by the Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF) with the Pakistan Norway Association (PANA) and a few other individuals/groups who are working towards snow leopard conservation for a resilient mountain ecosystem.

According to information available on the internet, the snow leopard finds a home in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains in Pakistan’s northern provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir. The graceful snow leopard, known for its beautiful, thick fur, has a white, yellowish or soft gray coat with ringed spots of black on brown. The markings help camouflage it from prey. With their thick coats, heavy fur-lined tails and paws covered with fur, snow leopards are perfectly adapted to the cold and dry habitats in which they live.

They primarily hunt wild sheep and goats but are also known to eat smaller animals like rodents, hares and game birds. The sad part is that the snow leopard population now numbers between 200-420 animals only for a number of reasons:- habitat degradation and fragmentation; reduction of natural prey due to illegal hunting; retribution killing for livestock loss and war and related military activities.

At a recent conservation summit in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic), 200,000 global citizens signed a petition seeking to create and implement a joint strategy with all range countries to combat poaching and illegal trade of snow leopards; safeguard the future of the snow leopard by supporting a range-wide, scientifically sound assessment of their remaining population to better inform conservation management; ensure that all infrastructure development in mountain ecosystems is sustainable and does not threaten snow leopards or their habitats and work with local communities to develop projects that will promote sustainable development in snow leopard landscapes, helping to decrease rural poverty while respecting the needs of wildlife.

SLF is one of Pakistan’s most respected conservation non-profit organisations in the country led by 2016 Whitley Award winner Dr. Muhammad Ali Nawaz. Affiliated with the Snow Leopard Trust, USA, the SLF is dedicated to conserve viable populations of snow leopards and other wild carnivores as an integral part of landscapes across Pakistan. PANA is an international friendship association based in Islamabad.