Bactrian Brief: Snow Leopard Conservation

Snow Leopard in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Photo source: Panthera via Smithsonian Magazine

I recently read a great article in the March issue of Smithsonian magazine called "Into Thin Air",  written by Matthew Shaer, about the efforts of hunters and scientists to study the snow leopard, a rare mountain cat that lives high in the mountains and plateaus of Central Eurasia. The range of the snow leopard, according to the Snow Leopard Trust website, runs through twelve countries, including "Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. China is one of the most influential countries for [snow leopard] conservation efforts, as it contains as much as 60% of all snow leopard habitat areas"(1). Yet, with such an enormous range, and while inhabiting areas that can range from 1000 meters above sea level to 3000-4500 meters above sea level, there are estimated to be only 4000-6500 snow leopards in the wild (2). With regard to the extreme climates that the snow leopard inhabits, Shaer writes, "Although snow leopards will descend to altitudes of 2,500 feet, they are most comfortable in steep and rocky mountains of 10,000 feet or higher, in the distant reaches of terrain historically inhospitable to man. It is no accident that in so many cultures, from Buddhist Tibet to the tribal regions of Tajikistan, the snow leopard is viewed as sacred: We must climb upward, in the direction of the heavens, to find it"(3).

It is with these dwindling numbers and a passion for snow leopard conservation that scientist Tanya Rosen leads the efforts of a group called Panthera for studying and restoring the populations of snow leopards within Central Eurasia. She has previously worked successfully with local hunters and farmers in Tajikistan to conserve and protect snow leopard populations from poaching, with her efforts culminating in a rise in the Tajik snow leopard population. She now works in Kyrgyzstan with local hunters by encouraging them to participate in local-run conservancy. This method of conservation creates a local stake in the management and preservation of native species like the snow leopard. Local-run conservancy has shown to work very well in places like the former soviet states, where national government cannot always facilitate the kind of infrastructure and budget necessary for preservation and protection of endangered wildlife.

It is clear in the article that the local Kyrgyz who participate in the conservation efforts take great pride in what they do, and they express great admiration and love for the snow leopard. However, the conservation efforts are not without significant risk. The leader of Shaer's expedition fell through thin ice at one point of the trek. Another man, a Kyrgyz park ranger named Beken, that Shaer interviewed for his article was swept away in a river while trying to retrieve a memory card from a camera trap set by Rosen and her team. It is because of these perils that snow leopard studies have been few and far between previously. Only now are conservation and serious study efforts, spearheaded by Rosen, garnering broader interest and action from the scientific community.

The article, time and again, references the connection that the locals feel toward the snow leopard. Beken, the man who gave his life for the preservation of the animal, spoke of wanting to ensure that the snow leopard "would never disappear from the land of his grandfather and father" and that the snow leopard itself was "a part of who we are."(4) Yakut, another local involved in the conservation effort, spoke of spotting snow leopards every day in his youth. "Now, months and months go by before I see a single track...My hope is that one day, maybe when my grandchildren are grown, the snow leopards will start to return."(5)

This summary doesn't really do justice to the article. It's a really interesting read and the author gives some great descriptions of the physical stress the body endures working at the high elevations of the Tien Shan mountains. If you don't have access to a physical copy of Smithsonian magazine, you can check out the online article here.


1. Unknown. "Habitat." Snow Leopard Trust website. http://www.snowleopard.org/learn/cat-facts/habitat

2. Ibid.

3. Shaer, Matthew. "Into Thin Air", Smithsonian Magazine. March 2016, 56

4. Ibid, 100.

5. Ibid, 98.