The Snow Leopard Trust is the largest and oldest organization that only works to protect the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and its habitat in 12 countries in Central Asia. The trust is a non-profit organization with its main office in Seattle, Washington. The current total number of snow leopards living in the wild is estimated to be between 3,920 and 6,390.

History

The trust was established in 1981 by Helen Elaine Freeman. While working as a volunteer at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, Freeman became interested in the snow leopards there and learned about their endangered situation. She later joined the zoo's staff and wanted to create the trust to protect snow leopards in the wild and their habitats. She also started the trust’s approach of helping people who live in the same areas as snow leopards improve their quality of life in exchange for protecting the animals.

Snow leopard conservation programs

The Snow Leopard Trust conducts scientific research, manages local conservation programs, and encourages international teamwork among snow leopard experts and support groups.

The organization raises funds through donations, grants, events, and online sales. It is supported by zoos and other conservation groups. The Snow Leopard Trust is rated as a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator and is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, European Association of Zoos and Aquariums, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, International Species Information System, and Co-Op America.

Currently, the Snow Leopard Trust focuses its work in five countries where snow leopards live: China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan. In these countries, the trust hires and trains staff to carry out research, education, and conservation. In the seven other countries where snow leopards are found, the trust works with researchers and conservation groups.

Community-based conservation

The trust works with communities in countries where snow leopards live to carry out conservation efforts. When an area is found to have important snow leopard habitat, the trust partners with local people to learn about their needs and create conservation plans together. These plans must achieve four goals:

• Protect snow leopards and their habitat, with help from local communities.
• Improve the quality of life for people in the community.
• Ensure the plan can become self-sufficient over time, so it does not rely on money from donors.
• Allow the results of the plan to be checked using monitoring programs.

Snow Leopard Enterprises (SLE) is a major program run by the trust. More than 300 families in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan take part by making handmade items from the wool of their animals. This helps them earn money while also protecting snow leopards in their area.

All families involved have agreed to stop hunting snow leopards and other animals. They also help stop illegal hunting. At the end of each year, communities receive a bonus if no illegal hunting has happened.

In 2011, the program won the BBC World Challenge, a global competition that recognizes projects showing creativity and innovation at a local level.

Science and research

Many questions about the snow leopard’s biology and behavior are still unanswered. To learn more and create better ways to protect them, The Snow Leopard Trust helps fund and carry out research on snow leopards. Here are some of the trust’s most recent and important studies.

In 2008, the trust started a long-term research project in Mongolia’s South Gobi Province. Earlier studies of snow leopards were often short, lasting only a few years. This new project aims to study all parts of the snow leopard’s habitat and behavior. Scientists use tools like camera traps and GPS collars to track the animals. The trust set up a research base in the Tost Mountains, about 250 km (160 mi) west of the city of Dalanzadgad. The first team of researchers included scientists from Argentina, Mongolia, the United States, and Sweden. So far, 18 snow leopards have been fitted with GPS collars. This study is a joint effort between the Snow Leopard Trust, the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation in Mongolia, and partners like Mongolia’s Ministry of Nature, Environment and Green Development, the Mongolia Academy of Sciences, Nordens Ark, Grimso, and the Whitley Fund for Nature.

Before this long-term study began, trust scientists captured a female snow leopard named Bayad in Chitral Gol National Park, northern Pakistan, on November 17, 2006. They placed a GPS collar on her to learn more about how snow leopards move and the size of their territories. This was the first study of wild snow leopards using GPS technology. It was done with help from Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province Wildlife Department and WWF–Pakistan.

Bayad appeared in TV shows like BBC’s Planet Earth and Natural World, and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom on Animal Planet. Scientists tracked her movements for 14 months, collecting more data than ever before with traditional radio collars. They found she traveled across an area of 1,563 km (603 sq mi), spending time in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 2014, the trust will begin a similar long-term study in Spiti Valley, India, with the help of its partner, the Nature Conservation Foundation, and the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department.

In 2006, the Snow Leopard Trust worked with geneticists Dr. Lisette Waits from the University of Idaho and Dr. Warren Johnson from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity. They discovered specific parts of snow leopards’ DNA that are unique to each individual. This allows scientists to identify individual cats by testing feces or hair samples found in the wild.

Partnerships and collaboration

The Snow Leopard Trust partners with several groups that protect snow leopards in their natural habitats. These groups include the Snow Leopard Foundation in Pakistan, the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation in Mongolia, the Nature Conservation Foundation in India, the Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, and the Shan Shui Conservation Center in China.

The trust created the Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS), which helps scientists and researchers share information about snow leopard studies worldwide.

In 2013, the Snow Leopard Trust was an important partner and organizer of the Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum. This event brought together leaders and experts from all 12 countries where snow leopards live. It was organized by the Office of the President of Kyrgyzstan and the State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry in Kyrgyzstan.

The forum took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. At the meeting, officials and conservationists discussed ways to protect snow leopards and their habitats in Central Asia. This led to the creation of the Bishkek Declaration on the Conservation of the Snow Leopard and the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Recovery Program (GSLEP). The trust continues to help the range countries carry out the goals of the GSLEP.

Snow Leopard Network

The trust helps the Snow Leopard Network (SLN), a group of organizations and government agencies from around the world that work together to protect snow leopards. The SLN was created in 2002 during the Snow Leopard Survival Summit in Seattle, Washington, United States. Its goal is to help snow leopard conservationists work together on research and solve problems that affect the survival of snow leopards. At the same time, the SLN ensures that people living in areas where snow leopards live can have opportunities to support their families. The SLN created the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy (SLSS), which is a report that outlines a planned strategy to help the endangered animal survive.

Collaboration with zoos and other conservation organizations

The Snow Leopard Trust partners with zoos and other conservation groups around the world to help countries work together on snow leopard protection. In March 2008, the Snow Leopard Trust, WCS, the Snow Leopard Network, and Panthera Foundation held an international conference in Beijing, China. This was the first time representatives from all 12 countries where snow leopards live met together. More than 100 people attended, including scientists, researchers, and government officials from 11 of the 12 snow leopard range countries. Dr. George Schaller, one of the first scientists to study snow leopards, and Dr. Urs Breitenmoser, co-Chair of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, gave important speeches at the event. The conference produced several results, including an updated map of snow leopard habitats, plans for each country to protect snow leopards, and three agreements.

• All range countries should speed up creating a Snow Leopard Action Plan or fully use existing plans.
• Each country will choose a person from a relevant organization to act as a national snow leopard contact. This person will help share information with the Snow Leopard Network and other contacts in their country and globally.
• Governments in range countries will create ways, such as written agreements, to work together across borders on issues like trade, research, and management that affect snow leopard protection. These efforts will address how climate change impacts snow leopards and include actions that help conservation, such as projects that reduce carbon emissions.

Zoos also play an important role in snow leopard protection. More than 50 zoos worldwide are part of the Snow Leopard Trust’s Natural Partnerships Program. Zoos can help by selling merchandise from the Snow Leopard Enterprises in their gift shops, offering joint membership agreements, hosting speakers from the Snow Leopard Trust, and displaying educational materials. A key part of the Natural Partnerships Program is allowing zoos to directly support the trust’s conservation work in the countries where snow leopards live.

Grants program

People who work to protect snow leopards and teach others in the countries where snow leopards live often do not have enough money or tools. A grants program will help them with projects that address the needs listed in the Snow Leopard Survival Strategy (SLSS).