Researchers based in Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve, where Mount Everest is located, say that this is the first time the species has been caught on film there. The South China Morning Post reports that since monitoring began earlier this year, cameras have collected 27 photos of the cats, and the team is now working to identify individual leopards to better understand their population and distribution.
The
photographic evidence of a snow leopard in the remote region comes as
welcome news at a time when the species has been pushed to the brink by
human activity. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature,
as few as 4,080 of the leopards are still in existence globally — their
numbers plummeted by 20 percent in recent decades due to habitat loss
and poaching.
No comments:
Post a Comment