A preliminary report from our team in India: a fourth community has established a grazing-free reserve. Grazing-free reserves are created by herding communities in snow leopard habitat. Part of the grazing area belonging to the village council is protected from livestock and other forms of resource use to enable the recovery of snow leopards and their prey.
Three reserves exist in northern India (two in the Spiti Valley and one in Ladakh), and now a fourth one has been created in the community of Lossar (further up the Spiti Valley). In additions to being important for snow leopards, this new reserve harbours Himalayan ibex, red fox, and possibly Tibetan wolf. The Lossar village will appoint a Reserve Guard to patrol and monitor wildlife in the reserve, and will choose alternate pastures for their livestock.
We are very excited to support these efforts. The largest and oldest reserve, in the Kibber community, has been extremely successful and highlights the good that can come from these reserves: today, the Kibber reserve is home to the largest population of blue sheep in the region (nearly 350), and 3-4 snow leopards have been observed using the reserve.
The Conservation of this valuable spp is vital importance. i hope that such kind of grazing free reserve will provide a safe habitat fro the snowleopard, i think this reserve will act as a model for snowleopard conservation,
its a good job,
Ajaz Ahmed
Chitral, Pakistan
Ajaz,
thank you for the comment. We try to build all our programs so that they can be replicated.
Do you know about our programs in Chitral? http://snowleopard.org/programs/communitybasedconservation/livestockvacc
Fabulous news also for people who love snow leopards.
I’d like to add that the higher reaches of pithoragarh district in uttarakhand are also home to snow leopards. I’d like you people to also include this region in your dedicated conservation efforts. I’d like to mention here that the snow leopards conservation programme will indeed get along well, generate the all vital awareness factor towards providing a more safer habitat and help prosper the population of these magnificant cats in this region.
I’d like to associate myself and if possible give my active services on field and work in this conservation programme.
Please do provide me with the requisite information on the above.
regards,
Sumit joshi
Project officer,
Govt. of India-UNDP: DRM (Disaster risk mg.) prog.,
Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.
Snow Leopard which is the State Animal of Himachal Pradesh deserve all this and such a fabulous step should had taken earlier.Grazing-Free Reserves ,is a great example of public -Govt participation and will prove a milestone in Snow Leopard Conservation as one side it will prowide a safe zone to the Ungulates hence improving prey base ,improvement of Habitat and secondly making it people”s movement to safeguard this Majestic ,Flagship Species of Himalayan Region .I had rare opportunity to hand rear two cubs if this Species wayback in 1998 in Tod Valley of Lahaul so would like to request all concerned to creat such Zones in area stretching from village Kwaring to yochey and Rarik-Chhika extending to Kargil(Lamayuru) and Patseo.
than you very ajaz for your comment from chitral, Pakistan. we always need the commnets and suggestion from expert people like you.
Veera,
Zoologist, INDIA
What a great news.. snoe leopard is also present in Kedarnath Wildlife Sactuary. Even i got the pug mark of snow leopard near Gandhi Sarover (Kedarnath temple).