Snow leopard appeal

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Show your love for snow leopards

With its thick patterned fur, extra-large paws and unusually long tail, the elusive snow leopard is highly adapted to the cold, mountainous terrains of Central Asia. They’ve thrived here for hundreds of thousands of years, hunting wild animals and patrolling their enormous home range in search of mates. At least, this was the case until the species came under grave threat from habitat loss and fragmentation due to mining and development across the region. There could now be as few as 4000 snow leopards in the wild.

The Tost region in South Gobi, Mongolia is one of the most important snow leopard habitats in the world. Here, as in all the areas snow leopards live, the species faces huge challenges. Mining, both illegal and legal, are prevalent in the region. As their habitat reduces, the big cats are forced into closer quarters with humans, exposing them to further risk of poaching and persecution from herders who fear for their livestock. 

But there is hope. We’ve committed to support an innovative project in the Tost region for five years, investing £100,000 in the conservation of this unique and incredible species.

Working together with government and the local community, our team, led by Bayara Agvaantseren, has had remarkable success in founding the Tost Nature Reserve, a clearly delineated area in which legal mining no longer takes place. However, poaching still occurs within the protected area, mainly for the snow leopards’ fur and their bones, which are used in traditional medicine. We are funding locals to be trained as professional park rangers, who will play a critical role in protecting these majestic animals from poachers.

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A gift of £25 could provide a local ranger with a head torch and GPS unit to protect the snow leopards from poacherswill you help?

Most of us will never be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a snow leopard. We can only imagine what it must feel like to spot this elegant and graceful beast gliding through the snowy mountains at dusk, on the prowl for its dinner. Given the reputation of big cats as predators, the snow leopard could be considered a gentle one as there are no reports of one ever attacking a human. The species is mostly solitary, only seen with other members when mating, or when raising cubs, who stay with their mother until they’re about two years old. We don’t know a huge amount about these shy animals, but we do know that they face many threats that could lead to their demise.

Together, we can help protect the incredible snow leopard from extinction – can you make a generous gift of £50 today?

As someone who cares about wildlife conservation, we know that you’re as worried as we are about the snow leopard’s future. And that’s why we hope you can support this ground-breaking project with a donation today. 

Thank you.

Video credit: Milan Matschke Shutterstock