Guest guest Posted October 1, 2001 Report Share Posted October 1, 2001 Snow leopard faces extinction in troubled region By A J McIlroy Daily Telegraph (Filed: 01/10/2001) RENEWED ground fighting and the threat of air strikes have raised fears for the snow leopard, already on the edge of extinction in the mountains of Afghanistan. Only 150 are left in the region, part of an estimated total population of fewer than 5,000 spread across 12 countries in central Asia. Their numbers have been decimated by a combination of years of war, rapidly expanding human encroachment on their habitats and hunting to sell their fur for fashion and their bones for eastern medicines. Conservationists have been working with Asian countries to try to establish " safety corridors " so that snow leopards in one threatened area can travel to other habitats where there is no human threat to their survival. In Afghanistan, wildlife has suffered dreadfully during decades of warfare, making it increasingly hard for the snow leopards, living above the tree lines at 9,000 to 19,000 feet, to find their prey. Land mines have been a major threat, forcing the leopards into retreat as their food chain is reduced. The International Snow Leopard Trust, based in Seattle in the United States, is preparing a report underlining concern for the survival of the species in Afghanistan. see: www.snowleopard.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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