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 Citizen
Outcries Drowned by the Yumaguzinsky Reservoir in
BashkiriaTaking the Future of Russia's Protected Areas in Their Own Hands: Zapovednik Directors Meet in Vladivostok Oil Production on Sakhalin: How long Before We See Another Valdez? A Brief Background on the Eurasian Snow Leopard Securing the Survival of Snow Leopards in Kyrgyzstan
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Compiled
with information provided by Elena Mukhina-Kreuzberg and
Elena Bykova
History of the Snow Leopard's Plight A large and limber
cat, the snow leopard (Unica unica) is one of the
few After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, however, the crumbling of agricultural collectives partially reduced the amount of human pressure on the land. As a result, throughout Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan the number of cattle grazing in high country pastures sharply declined, spurring a comeback in the productivity of former pasture lands and subsequently, in ungulate and also marmot (Marmota sp.) populations. Although the snow leopard's habitat and food base were partially restored, the plummeting socio-economic situation in the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union (NIS) has precipitated other, more intense human pressures on the environment. To compensate for the loss in cash due to fewer cattle, local people are now seeking wild ungulates for meat and income. Marmots are now subject to hunting, as they are valued for their skins. Once again the snow leopard's prey and habitat is under seige. The direct poaching of snow leopards undoubtedly stands as the gravest threat to this population. Today the hunting of snow leopards has been transformed from a random activity involving a few isolated cases into a widespread and premeditated business, most often aimed at fulfilling a special order from abroad. The soft, exquisite fur of the snow leopard, fluctuating in price from several hundreds to thousands of dollars, is still in demand by the fur industry in Japan, Russia, and Europe. Other parts of this animal, such as its bones, are increasingly sought as substitutes for tiger bones in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In order to halt transactions involving this species, it has been added to Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES), which prohibits all international, commercial trade in live animals, pelts, bones, and other derivatives. Snow Leopard Population Status The most complete assessment of the snow leopard population numbers and status in the former Soviet Union was conducted more than ten years ago. According to the specialists of that time, there were about 1000 individuals in Kyrgyzstan. The population number throughout Central Asia was projected to be approximately two times higher. Without fresh information today, it is premature to make any definitive conclusions. But, using available data the snow leopard's population today is estimated to be half of the last official count and is nearing a critical level. In Kyrgyzstan alone the poaching rate has increased threefold, resulting in an estimated 90 to 120 snow leopard deaths a year. The snow leopard is now listed in the IUCN Red Data Book as a species in danger of extinction. Elena Mukhina-Kreuzberg and Elena Bykova are snow leopard experts working in Central Asia. |
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representatives of the order Felidae that has adapted to
life among the deep crevices, sheer precipices, and jagged
ridges of Central Asia's mountain ranges, such as the Tien
Shan and the Altai. Life in such harsh conditions is always
taxing and naturally, the population of this predator has
never been especially high. However, human factors have also
contributed to keeping the species' numbers low. Earlier in
this century, as Soviet agricultural policy encouraged goat
and sheep farmers to maintain unsustainably large herd
sizes, herders pushed into the mountains in search of new
pastures. Increased human pressure and competition for
grazing areas resulted in decreased populations of the
argali (Ovis ammon) and to a lesser degree, the ibex (Capra
ibex), primary prey species of the snow leopard. 
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