Back in April my colleagues and I at VOYGR expeditions were just celebrating an incredibly successful snow leopard viewing season, which was very sadly cut short due to COVID-19, when we created the High Asia Habitat Fund. This organization raises money to help the locals who depend on wildlife tourism for their income. Snow leopards also depend on the health of this industry for their protection. Using GoFundMe, with your help, we were able to raise $1700 dollars. This doesn’t sound like much money, but in the Himalayas a little goes a long way. $900 of this money went to protecting a total of 700 pashmina wool sheep that were vulnerable to snow leopard predation. Special corrals, which house these sheep during the night, were made fully predator proof using metal fencing to prevent predators from sneaking in. When snow leopards become accustomed to preying on livestock, it causes between ranchers and cats, a conflict in which the cats always lose. This money covered the materials, and employed 9 locals for the installation. I would like to thank all who donated.
Several tiny villages, such as Rumbak, exist within Hemis National Park. only accessible by foot, they are embedded deep in prime snow leopard habitat. Residents benefit from the hardy wildlife enthusiats who venture here in search of snow leopards. Responsible livestock herders in the region collect their vulnerable animals- sheep, goats and baby yaks, and put them into corals at night for protection. Snow leopards can easily jump over the walls and often kill every animal in the coral. We are working to cover the corals with metal fencing to prevent this.
A snow leopard entered this coral and killed all the livestock. This is financial devastation to the locals.
This sleeping snow leopard is exhausted after jumping into a corral and killing all the sheep. This cat faces a grim future, as they are usually killed in retribution.
Healthy snow leopard populations require happy locals which benefit fro having snow leopards, which support a growing ecotourism economy.
The snow leopard is the heart, soul and character of the Himalayas. If we manage for snow leopards, we succeed in conserving intact ecosystems.
The Covid pandemic has been excruciatingly brutal on conservation based ecotourism economies, especially in developing nations. My heart goes out to the locals who have learned to love and conserve, and share their mountain ghosts with us. My heart also goes out to those who donated to the High Asia Fund. This is only the beginning, and we will try to raise much more money, and build the High Asia Habitat Fund in the future. There is a lot of work to do!
How you can help- donate to gofundme campaign. Click Here
Click here to learn more about the High Asia Habitat Fund
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