
The endangered Snow Leopards are finding it difficult to survive in the Himalayas due to a seemingly small problem -- lack of pastures. Watch how four villagers are helping them:
The endangered Snow Leopards are finding it difficult to survive in the Himalayas due to a seemingly small problem — lack of pastures.
Watch how four villagers are helping them:
Transcript
Snow Leopard Trust along with the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) are using a ‘grazing-free reserves’ model to up the numbers of the endangered snow leopard.
The model is simple
- Over-grazing => Decrease in pastures => Decrease in prey => Decrease in snow leopards
- Cutting out “over-grazing herds” from the equation will tackle the problem at its roots.
The initiative has roped in Kibber, Chichim, Hanle and Losar villages. With roughly 50 sq km of pasture protected this has resulted in the increase in the number of not only snow leopards but also Himalayan ibex, red fox, Tibetan gazelles Tibetan wolf and possibly wild dog ‘dhole’.
Reportedly the number of plant varieties are much higher in these pastures than in non-protected areas, signifying a flourishing eco system.
Tackling endangerment at its roots!