Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Snow Leopard on prowl,attacks man
Snow Leopard on prowl, attacks man
Tangmarg: Abdul Ahad Malik son of Ghulam Qadir of Kathipora Tangmarg was attacked by a snow leopard on Monday afternoon.Reports said 48-year-old Ahad received injuries and has been hospitalized.
Tangmarg: Abdul Ahad Malik son of Ghulam Qadir of Kathipora Tangmarg was attacked by a snow leopard on Monday afternoon.Reports said 48-year-old Ahad received injuries and has been hospitalized.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Serious concerns over snow leopards
Serious efforts needed to protect snow leopards: Wangchuk
Arun Joshi
Jammu, January 15, 2007
Expressing serious concern over the endangered Snow Leopard found in the upper reaches of the Himalayas including India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Russia, Bhutan, Mongolia, China and Central Asian countries, a noted wild life conservationist Rinchan Wangchuk on Monday said that serious efforts need to be made to protect the big cat which is a top predator and an indicator species of mountain bio-diversity but is faced with a serious threat from ongoing people- wildlife conflicts.
"There is a strong need to reduce this conflict through local involvement in finding innovative and simple locally effective solutions. Initiation of environmental awareness campaigns, sensitisation of communities and strengthening community stewardship of alpine ecosystems can be some of the initiatives," said Rinchen.
"We need to build direct partnerships with local people for the conservation of snow leopard which is a seriously threatened animal. For this, we need to initiate conservation and education activities that grow from within communities and build strong foundations for locally-driven protection of snow leopards and their habitat," said. Rinchen, Director, Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), India.
Speaking at a well-attended lecture organised by the Friends of Ladakh Society, an organisation working toward Ladakh and related issues under the aegis of Centre for History and Culture of Jammu and Ladakh Regions, University of Jammu, in Jammu on Monday. Rinchen who is passionately involved in the battle to save endangered snow leopard in India, pointed out that increased human encroachment, war and internal strife, poverty, habitat degradation are some of the serious threats to the wild life.
"The real question is how to maintain depredation at a manageable level while helping local people to perceive the greater worth of having a live snow leopard than a pelt of one that took their livestock", said. Rinchen who is son of an illustrious father, Colonel Rinchen, who was conferred with Mahavir Chakra twice.
Making an elaborate power point presentation on Snow Leopard conservation efforts to preserve the big cat, Rinchen said in India, the Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) is working to promote innovative grassroots measures that lead local people to become better stewards of endangered snow leopards, their prey, and habitat. Much of the SLC's work is in the Ladakh region where it is working with local communities for the conservation of the snow leopard.
"We have been working with remote villagers in predator proofing their livestock pens. In a survey, we found they were losing 13% of their valuable livestock to snow leopards and wolves incurring a loss of over Rs12000 annually. Such a loss is a huge economic impact for a poor family. And often such cases of heavy losses are met with retaliatory killing of this endangered cat. By making minor intervention like covering the roof with wire mesh to deter access to predators," he said adding this has helped in checking multiple losses; coupled with increased income opportunities from eco-tourism has been making positive change amongst people towards this animal was reduced and they were able to reduce the heavy losses of the villagers and thus saves the snow leopard.
Highlighting the role of SLC in snow leopard conservation, Rinchan said SLC helps communities to improve their corral and herding techniques to reduce livestock losses. At the same time, it trains and assists communities to set up home-stays, work as wildlife guides and set up small eco-tourism enterprises. The income of these mountain people earn from tourists who come to see and learn about the snow leopard helps offset livestock losses, and pay for children's school fees and the cost of alternative fuel to reduce reliance on scarce fuel wood.
Email Arun Joshi: a_joshi957@rediffmail.com
Arun Joshi
Jammu, January 15, 2007
Expressing serious concern over the endangered Snow Leopard found in the upper reaches of the Himalayas including India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Russia, Bhutan, Mongolia, China and Central Asian countries, a noted wild life conservationist Rinchan Wangchuk on Monday said that serious efforts need to be made to protect the big cat which is a top predator and an indicator species of mountain bio-diversity but is faced with a serious threat from ongoing people- wildlife conflicts.
"There is a strong need to reduce this conflict through local involvement in finding innovative and simple locally effective solutions. Initiation of environmental awareness campaigns, sensitisation of communities and strengthening community stewardship of alpine ecosystems can be some of the initiatives," said Rinchen.
"We need to build direct partnerships with local people for the conservation of snow leopard which is a seriously threatened animal. For this, we need to initiate conservation and education activities that grow from within communities and build strong foundations for locally-driven protection of snow leopards and their habitat," said. Rinchen, Director, Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), India.
Speaking at a well-attended lecture organised by the Friends of Ladakh Society, an organisation working toward Ladakh and related issues under the aegis of Centre for History and Culture of Jammu and Ladakh Regions, University of Jammu, in Jammu on Monday. Rinchen who is passionately involved in the battle to save endangered snow leopard in India, pointed out that increased human encroachment, war and internal strife, poverty, habitat degradation are some of the serious threats to the wild life.
"The real question is how to maintain depredation at a manageable level while helping local people to perceive the greater worth of having a live snow leopard than a pelt of one that took their livestock", said. Rinchen who is son of an illustrious father, Colonel Rinchen, who was conferred with Mahavir Chakra twice.
Making an elaborate power point presentation on Snow Leopard conservation efforts to preserve the big cat, Rinchen said in India, the Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) is working to promote innovative grassroots measures that lead local people to become better stewards of endangered snow leopards, their prey, and habitat. Much of the SLC's work is in the Ladakh region where it is working with local communities for the conservation of the snow leopard.
"We have been working with remote villagers in predator proofing their livestock pens. In a survey, we found they were losing 13% of their valuable livestock to snow leopards and wolves incurring a loss of over Rs12000 annually. Such a loss is a huge economic impact for a poor family. And often such cases of heavy losses are met with retaliatory killing of this endangered cat. By making minor intervention like covering the roof with wire mesh to deter access to predators," he said adding this has helped in checking multiple losses; coupled with increased income opportunities from eco-tourism has been making positive change amongst people towards this animal was reduced and they were able to reduce the heavy losses of the villagers and thus saves the snow leopard.
Highlighting the role of SLC in snow leopard conservation, Rinchan said SLC helps communities to improve their corral and herding techniques to reduce livestock losses. At the same time, it trains and assists communities to set up home-stays, work as wildlife guides and set up small eco-tourism enterprises. The income of these mountain people earn from tourists who come to see and learn about the snow leopard helps offset livestock losses, and pay for children's school fees and the cost of alternative fuel to reduce reliance on scarce fuel wood.
Email Arun Joshi: a_joshi957@rediffmail.com
Monday, January 8, 2007
Protecting the Snow Leopards from Poachers
Radio Expeditions
Protecting the Snow Leopard from Poachers
by
Snow leopard numbers continue to plummet as a highly lucrative black market demand for their pelts and bones increases. Fritz Polking, Snow Leopard Trust
Elizabeth Arnold, NPR
Wildlife biologist Bariushaa Munkhtsog is director of the Snow Leopard Trust's Mongolia program. The program monitors the big cats and their prey, and works with local herding families to offset the economic pressure to poach.
Enlarge Herding families who graze their livestock in the Altaj Mountains of northwestern Mongolian live in one-room canvas yurts like this one, which are called "gers" in Mongolia.
Erdenbaatar, a Mongolian wildlife ranger for Snow Leopard Trust, with his wife, Sandileg, and daughter.
Morning Edition, January 2, 2007 · Snow leopards are among the world's most endangered big cats. An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 remain in the wild. While the predator is protected under several international treaties, snow leopards are rapidly in decline. Poachers can make a small fortune from their pelts, which sell for thousands of dollars on the black market in China and elsewhere.
Mongolian wildlife biologist Munkhtsog (traditonally, Mongolians go by a single name) has been tracking snow leopards for the last 10 years. He says while the leopards are rarely seen, "they mark certain landscapes to communicate with each other, like the language of people."
I traveled by train, plane, jeep and foot across the Gobi desert and up high into the Altaj mountains of Northwestern Mongolia to join Munkhtsog.
As the Mongolian Program director of the International Snow Leopard Trust, Munkhtsog works with local herders to monitor the movements, prey and habitat of snow leopards with the goal of protecting them. The work is difficult as the big cats live in some of the harshest terrain in the world. High in the snowy peaks of the remote Altaj Mountains in northwestern Mongolia, Munkhtsog has taught herders how to track snow leopards from the shallow holes they dig, scent marks they leave on the underside of rocks and scratch marks on trees. By keeping a close watch on the snow leopard population here and in other parts of Central Asia, biologists can determine whether and where they are being illegally killed.
In addition, his organization is working with local herding families to make wool handicrafts sold in Mongolia and in the United States to relieve the economic pressure to poach.
Erdenbaatar, a herder and ranger in northwestern Mongolia's Yammat Valley, has worked with Munkhtsog and the Snow Leopard Trust for several years.
"There are very few of them left in the world, and where there is snow leopard, there is everything," Erdenbaatar says.
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