11 Ways to Help Snow Leopards

The Snow Leopard is an elusive big cat. They aren’t easy to spot, as they blend in well with their surroundings.  Locals call them the “mountain ghosts”.  (Find out how India's first snow leopard census was carried out.)

Snow leopards live in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Tjiskistan, Russia and Uzbekistan so they have quite a range covering roughly 2 million square kilometres, half of which are in China.

Snow Leopard conservation charities will be working closely with local communities to help local people co-exist with these magnificent big cats, and also to help them with ways to improve their living standards.  This will help reduce the need for poaching and also reduce reliance on livestock.  Their work matters;  the Snow Leopard Trust reports that everyone's support  has enabled them to do these things:

• Acquire new data from snow leopard dens - these were extraordinary visits and they documented five cubs!  This discovery all helps make informed conservation choices.
• The Trust's scientists discovered that snow leopards are the only big cats who consistently target prey animals who are twice as big as they are - or even larger!  GPS tracking and 12 years of data enabled researchers to discover that snow leopards hunt the largest, most mature ibex males.  
• 45 snow leopards are now collared in Tost, Mongolia, since 2008 which enables the reserachers to discover more about leopards.  This data shapes conservation strategies to protect the leopards.  
• The Trust GPS collared one ibex, so now 14 since 2008!  This is really important in understanding how ibex interact with snow leopards
• The Trust expanded succwessful ranger training - its very successful Citizen-Ranger Wildlife Protection Programme has been expanded to Mongolia and Pakistan.  This enables local rangers to have what they need to prevent poaching and illegal wildife trade and to protect habitat
• Over 2.8 million livestock have been vaccinated in Pakistan, preventing both disease and conflict
• $2 million has been generated for conservation since the Snow Leopard Enterprises programme was launched - this is a women-led initiative which has given people sustainable livelihood and made snow leopaord protection benefitical for those who live there
• Almost 450 corrals have been build to protect snow leopards and liverstock
• 200,000+ square kilometres of critical snow leopard has now been protected through government co-operation and community partnerships. 
• The Snow Leopard Trust has partnered with WWF and the Centre for Large Landscape Conservation, creating recommendations for the snow leopard range countries to reduce development impacts on these beuatiful big cats
• Incredibly, over 1 million people are standing with the Snow Leopard Trust across its platforms across the world, deteremined to make sure that these stunning cats have a future

One of the things local communities can do is to diversify.  

The Snow Leopard Trust reports that high up in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, some local herding farmers are moving their exclusive focus on livestock to beekeeping!  The problem is that overgrazing by livestock is degrading the landscape, which damages the habitat needed for snow leopards and their pray – and the livestock – to survive.  So by doing beekeeping as a livelihood, families can diversify – and sell honey – which means there’s less pressure on the habitat to produce healthy grasslands for everyone.  Find out more here. 

The 23^rd October is International Snow Leopard Day!

The Snow Leopard Conservancy is on a mission to help snow leopards in the Dolpo region in Nepal

It is aiming to raise £600,000 to help snow leopards in the Dolpo region in Nepal.   It has partnered with the crew and protagonists of the documentary Snow Leopard Sisters to protect the snow leopards in Dolpo and provide better opportunities for the local communities there. Enter their mission to partner with local community members such as Tshiring Lhamu Lama to save one of the last great snow leopard habitats, right in the Himalayas.  Donations go to supporting programmes in Dolpo, under the guidance of Tshiring Lhamu Lama and her team there.  You can find out more and donate here. 

This video shows Snow Leopard Scraping Behaviour Captured on Trail Camera, Western Mongolia
from the Snow Leopard Conservancy.

How about a Research Camera Adoption
to support snow leopard conservation?
$500.00

11 ways to help snow leopards.

1.  Build a connection with snow leopards.  Find out more about these magnificent big cats – their behaviour, biology, geography and so on.  Watch footage of them (the Snow Leopard Trust has some amazing photos) to develop a bond with them, even if it is from the comfort of home.  Get closer to them - it will increase your desire to help them

2.  Understand the threats facing snow leopards and spread the word – poaching, mining, climate change.  Its main prey species such as sheep and goats - are also threatened by illegal and unsustainable hunting.  In some areas, there are retribution killings when snow leopards kill livestock.  Mining is destroying the eco-systems snow leopards depend on.  And climate change will alter the habitat of the snow leopard and other species, affecting the availability of water and vegetation. Tell people that snow leopards are under threat.  It’s estimated that there are no more than 6,390 snow leopards living in the wild – and there may be as few as 3,920.  There's a "Can you spot the danger?  snow leopard quiz" here.

3.  The 23^rd October is International Snow Leopard Day (make a note in your calendar) but you can make every day a snow leopard day by checking for and sharing news, photos and videos you find to raise awareness of this stunning big cat.

4. Find out what snow leopard charities are doing to overcome the challenges facing snow leopards.  Find out where they work, what they do, what their mission is, ways in which you can help, whether they have a newslettler you can sign up to.  Follow them on social media.  Some may have volunteer opportunities.  For instance, you could look at

• Snow Leopard Trust 
• Snow Leopard Conservancy,
• WCS. (the Wildlife Conservation Society)
• Bhutan Foundation:
• Panthera 

The Snow Leopard Network is a worldwide organization which facilitates the exchange of information and insights between individuals around the world with the aim of snow leopard conservation.  Take a look at their Annual Report for 2023 which celebrates 20 years of the Snow Leopard Network.

5.  Adopt a snow leopard to support snow leopard charities!   The Snow Leopard Trust has e-adoptions so wherever you are in the world, you can adopt a snow leopard!  This makes for a great gift for big cat lovers – your gift really is making a difference.  You can even adopt Anu, a wild snow leopard!  Find out more about the adoptions here

The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) works to protect snow leopards.
DSWF is a UK registered charity, No. 1106893
Adopt a snow leopard from the DSWF from £3 a month. 

6.   Watch for appeals the snow leopard charities make.  They are often involved in Giving Tuesday or fundraisers around Christmas, so you could ask people to donate for you on your behalf instead of giving you an actual present.  (This makes life much easier for them, too!)

7.   You could do a Research Camera Adoption with the Snow Leopard Trust and directly support snow leopard conservation.   This would be quite an amazing gift for a snow leopard lover, as it includes a Personalized Research Camera adoption certificate, thousands of exclusive photographs from a real research camera trap, immediately available to download and a full camera roll from Mongolia, India and Kyrgyzstan!  Find out more here

8.  Donate or join Team Snow Leopard at the Snow Leopard Trust and donate monthly.  

9. Buy products from snow leopard conservation charities’ online shops.   Spread the snow leopard wonder!  You could also support Snow Leopard Enterprises.  The idea is that herder women living in snow leopard habitat produce unique handicrafts, made with the natural resources they have.   Snow Leopard Enterprises buys them and sells them online to snow leopard supporters worldwide!  Families taking part can boost their income by up to 40% - and they pledge to keep snow leopards in their area safe.   The Snow Leopard Trust says you could also sell some of its products at arts and crafts fairs to help raise funds and awareness. 

10.  See if you can  to fundraise for a snow leopard charityhelp support their work.  You could set up an online fundraiser or do a personal challenge for instance.  

11.  Get children involved too;  they can learn about snow leopards with lots of snow leopard activities!