HOW IS WWF INDIA PROTECTING SNOW LEOPARDS?
WWF India has been working for close to five decades to protect and conserve wildlife in the country. To protect snow leopards, we are working in rugged and high altitude terrains of the Himalayas. We work in collaboration with many stakeholders namely, state forest departments, local communities, partner organisations, and media, among others.
CONDUCTING SURVEYS AND RESEARCH
In the absence of a reliable estimate of snow leopard population in the country, we are using best of science to find out how many snow leopards are there in the wild and where all they are found. It is a challenging task as the high-altitude habitats are rugged and remote with winter temperatures dropping down to -30 degrees.
BALANCING THE HUMAN-WILDLIFE INTERFACE IN THE MOUNTAINS
In the high mountain ranges, negative interaction with snow leopards are common as they attack livestock for food. For mountain communities, this is a growing challenge that affects agriculture and pastoralism, further impacting livelihood options. WWF India has designed smart predator-proof corrals to protect the livestock of communities, and reduce retaliatory killings of snow leopards. These specially developed predator-proof corrals help keep livestock safe from predators.
AWARENESS PROGRAMMES
WWF India organizes snow leopard conservation programmes for local communities to enable a harmonious co-existence between the people and the elusive big cat. We are working with local communities and key stakeholders to secure the high mountain habitat of snow leopards in a manner that benefits both people and snow leopards.
TRACKING, TRACING AND MONITORING THE EXISTING SNOW LEOPARD POPULATION
Found in the snow-capped Himalayan mountains - the elusive snow leopards are hard to spot and challenging to track. Our field teams are involved in setting up camera trappings at great lengths to study the behaviour and movement of snow leopards. Such efforts will help estimate population size, trends, and other demographics for the species and its prey.
