A Chinese newspaper and website is saying snow leopard populations are stable in Tibet, a formerly autonomous nation China controls.
An article in China Daily made the claim late last month. China Daily describes itself as the largest English language portal.
According to the website, the area around Nagchu in Tibet has been under study for snow leopard populations since 2021. The city’s forestry and grasslands center and the Shan Shui Conservation Center have been behind the study. Nagchu is sited between three mountain ranges and is an alpine ecosystem. Shan Shui was founded in 2007 and is a non-profit NGO dedicated to conservation issues. Although the wildlife in the Nagchu area may be stable many other issues exist between the Chinese government and Tibetan locals.
China Daily said 143 infrared cameras have been placed in the region and have caught more than 100 images. Snow leopards, wolves, Eurasian lynx, brown bears, Tibetan brown bears and Dhole wild dogs have all been caught on camera. Local officials were quoted as saying that the apex predators appear to have adequate food supplies.
In addition to official park patrol officers local herders are being trained in management techniques to help protect the snow leopards and other species. China Daily said other protected and threatened species also inhabit the region including Tibetan wild asses, musk deer and Tibetan gazelle.
Snow leopards are not true leopards despite their spotted coats and are more closely elated to tigers than they are to leopards. They are considered endangered but many countries in their home range are working to protect them. The cats are believed to number about 5,000 worldwide. Snow leopards are well adapted to their high altitude life and are acrobatic hunters in the mountains they call home.