Snow Leopard Conservation in Pakistan
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Learn about Pakistan, a mountainous snow leopard range country.
Pakistan is a Muslim state created when
the Indian subcontinent was partitioned at independence from Great
Britain in 1947. From independence until the end of the 20th
century, Pakistan's strategy for economic development relied mainly on
resource extraction, leaving some areas ecologically damaged.
Military conflict and the disputed border with India create additional
conservation challenges in snow leopard areas. The Snow Leopard
Trust has recently begun working in the North West Frontier Province, a
remote region where subsistence herding is a primary economic
activity. Click on the map below for a more detailed look at this snow leopard range country.
Area: 803, 940 sq km (nearly twice the size of California)
Area of snow leopard habitat: 80,000 sq km
Highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen), 8,611 m (world's second-tallest peak)
Human population: 159,196,336
Snow leopard population: 200-420
Average income (in US$) of people living in snow leopard areas: $200-430
Mining, logging, and industrial development degrade and fragment snow leopard habitat. The cats are pushed into less suitable areas, where the climate may be harsher, prey scarcer, or conflicts with humans more likely to occur. All of these factors make it more difficult for the cats to survive.
As a growing human population pushes further into remote areas, people sometimes hunt for food the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's primary prey. Illegal trophy hunting for these animals’ prized horns can also be a lucrative source of extra income for people in remote and often economically underdeveloped areas. As wild sheep and goat populations decline, snow leopards go hungry.
When their wild prey is scarce, snow leopards sometimes turn to
domestic livestock for food. Herders, who lead a precarious
economic existence with most of their family wealth bound up in their
herds, may kill snow leopards in retaliation.
The community-designed and -run livestock vaccination program helps
people in the northern village of Kuju keep their herds of sheep and
goats healthy. When losses to disease are minimized, herding
families are better able to tolerate occasional losses to predators,
and are less likely to kill snow leopards in retaliation.
Pakistan is the newest country participating in the Snow Leopard Enterprises program, which encourages snow leopard conservation while helping increase the incomes of rural people through handicraft production. Click here to shop for Snow Leopard Enterprises products.
The Snow Leopard Trust is conducting ongoing monitoring of snow leopard
and prey populations in North West Frontier Province, particularly in
areas near the Trust's program sites. The
Trust is also teaming up with the province's Wildlife Department to
conduct a large, 2 1/2-year study of large carnivores (including snow
leopards, bears, wolves, and jackals) in Chitral Gol National Park.
Quick Links:
- Fast Facts - Answers to common questions about this snow leopard range country
- Threats to Snow Leopards - Challenges that put Pakistan’s cats at risk
- Programs - How the Snow Leopard Trust is working in Pakistan to help
Fast Facts
Area: 803, 940 sq km (nearly twice the size of California)
Area of snow leopard habitat: 80,000 sq km
Highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen), 8,611 m (world's second-tallest peak)
Human population: 159,196,336
Snow leopard population: 200-420
Average income (in US$) of people living in snow leopard areas: $200-430
Threats to Snow Leopards
Challenges that put Pakistan’s cats at riskHabitat degradation and fragmentation
Mining, logging, and industrial development degrade and fragment snow leopard habitat. The cats are pushed into less suitable areas, where the climate may be harsher, prey scarcer, or conflicts with humans more likely to occur. All of these factors make it more difficult for the cats to survive.
Reduction of natural prey due to illegal hunting
As a growing human population pushes further into remote areas, people sometimes hunt for food the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's primary prey. Illegal trophy hunting for these animals’ prized horns can also be a lucrative source of extra income for people in remote and often economically underdeveloped areas. As wild sheep and goat populations decline, snow leopards go hungry.
Killing of snow leopards in retribution for livestock depredation
When their wild prey is scarce, snow leopards sometimes turn to
domestic livestock for food. Herders, who lead a precarious
economic existence with most of their family wealth bound up in their
herds, may kill snow leopards in retaliation. Programs
How the Snow Leopard Trust is working in Pakistan to helpCommunity-based conservation: Livestock vaccinaton program
The community-designed and -run livestock vaccination program helps
people in the northern village of Kuju keep their herds of sheep and
goats healthy. When losses to disease are minimized, herding
families are better able to tolerate occasional losses to predators,
and are less likely to kill snow leopards in retaliation. Community-based conservation: Snow Leopard Enterprises
Pakistan is the newest country participating in the Snow Leopard Enterprises program, which encourages snow leopard conservation while helping increase the incomes of rural people through handicraft production. Click here to shop for Snow Leopard Enterprises products.
Research and monitoring
The Snow Leopard Trust is conducting ongoing monitoring of snow leopard
and prey populations in North West Frontier Province, particularly in
areas near the Trust's program sites. The
Trust is also teaming up with the province's Wildlife Department to
conduct a large, 2 1/2-year study of large carnivores (including snow
leopards, bears, wolves, and jackals) in Chitral Gol National Park.