cubs grow up and have offspring of their own
r epeated ly.
Another threat has been looming over Tost’s snow
leopards though! This part of Mongolia is rich in
minerals, and, all around Tost, companies are digging
up the ground to mine coal and gold. One active mine
is right on the edge of Tost mountains, and has already
cut into potential snow leopard habitat. More than
20 other sites all over Tost have been designated
for potential mining.
For years, the local community has fought to limit
the impact of mining on their home – and we’ve been
at their side since the beginning. In 2010, they claimed
an important victory, when Tost was declared
a Local Protected Area, a move that would limit
the possible expansion of mining, but would not have
been enough to stop it altogether.
In spring 2016, they had an even bigger breakthrough:
Mongolia’s parliament decided to make Tost
a State Nature Reserve and protect it for good!
That’s great news for Anu and her fellow snow
leopards as well as for the local community,
who will retain their traditional pastures for
future generations.
The information from our study – photos, GPS
locations and analysis – has undoubtedly helped
convince politicians to act.
Elsewhere in snow leopard habitat, where this sort
of information isn’t available, it’s crucial that we find
ways to collect it and make it public!a devastating blow. Livestock rearing provides food
and also the only source of income for hundreds
of thousands of mostly poor people.
In Anu’s home, the Tost Mountains, as in other
mountains such as the Himalayas and the Tien Shan,
we’ve been able to work with the local community
to find ways for them to coexist with snow leopards.
In partnership, we’ve created community-run insurance
funds for livestock, where herders pay small premiums
and receive compensation if they lose any animals
to snow leopard attacks.
We’ve also worked with families in the area to
jointly build corral fences that can keep snow leopards
away from penned livestock, so these attacks can
be prevented.
Such measures have helped change the local herders’
attitude toward snow leopards. Fear and dislike used
to be the most common reaction. Today, many herders
appreciate the cat’s presence, and no longer feel
the need to hunt it.
The change goes even deeper though. Local women
have begun to make handicrafts from the wool of
their livestock. We sell these products to animal lovers
around the world under the Snow Leopard Enterprises
label, helping the participating families to earn up to
40 per cent more income!
These programmes have had a positive impact on
the snow leopards of Tost. There haven’t been any known
poaching cases for several years, and the snow leopard
population has been stable since 2010. We’ve even seenABOVE: Anu and
her cub
L E F T: Matthias
Fiechter and
Dr Charudutt Mishra
3X SNOW LEOPARD TRUST63 April 2017