Endangerment of the Snow Leopard Essay - 1005 Words

Snow leopard. When most people hear those words put together, they think of a large, stunning cat with piercing blue eyes, prowling across a snowy terrain high up in the mountains. What they don’t imagine is a helpless animal whose habitat is being destroyed. That is exactly what is happening to these beautiful creatures. Mountain ranges, where these rare cats live, are under the attack of global warming, and the snow leopard population is dwindling because of humans. One of the more well-known snow leopard habitats are the Himalayas. Located in Asia, the Himalayas are becoming warmer each year, which results in a higher treeline. The snow leopards are forced to retreat ever higher into the mountains, where there is less food,†¦show more content†¦Snow leopard skeletons sell for twice the amount of the furs, as they can be used as a substitute for tiger bones in traditional Asian medicine. With so much media and conservation attention, tiger bones were becoming difficult for poachers to acquire, so they turned to snow leopards. Most poachers are barely able to survive on a few dollars a day, so, to them, killing these rare is an extra source of income. Other body parts found on the black markets are claws, used as knives, and meat. Snow leopards are also captured for private animal collections in Central Asia, especially in China. Worst case scenario, the poacher just kills the snow leopard, takes the claws or a few bones, and just disposes of the animal. Countries are doing as much as they can for these animals, by passing laws, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which makes the international trade of snow leopards in any form illegal in all signatory countries (wwf.org.uk), but poachers are very difficult to control. In fact, illegal trade in China appears to be increasing rapidly with growing economic power, and in Afghanistan, new markets have emerged that are difficult to police due to th e on-going military conflict (savingcatsanddogs.org). Luckily, all snow leopard range states except the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan are parties to the CITES treaty today. However, some range states, such asShow MoreRelated The Fight to Help the Snow Leopard Essay2465 Words   |  10 Pagesunder this category is the â€Å"Panthera Uncia† (Dublin, par. 1) –more commonly known as the snow leopard. This animal is seen as a threat to many people in Central Asia –the natural habitat of the leopard. However, the conclusion is inaccurate. The snow leopard is a rare creature that is hardly seen by humans. This animal is insulated by thick fur and has tremendous paws that act like snow shoes. Snow leopards have powerful legs that allow them to jump up to at least fifty feet. Along with theirRead MoreThe Grizzly Reality Of Trophy Hunting1619 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Red List of Endangered Species the World Wildlife(or WWE) created a list of animals that have been put in danger of extinction specifically because of trophy hunting. In their critically endangered category the WWF had animals such as the Amur Leopard one of the big cats of Russia. Other animals that are critically endangered from further south in south asian jungles and from africa are on the list as well for a variety of reasons. The javan, black, and sumatran rhinos are hunted because theirRead MoreThe Great Honor Of The Hundred Acre Woods1711 Words   |  7 Pagesthan India. The loss of a subspecies is a very big deal for the ecosystems they occupied. There are two main reasons for the endangerment of tigers. The first reason is poaching. Tigers are often hunted for their fur to make clothing and fashion accessories in both Asian and Western countries. 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