Foundation Memorial Project : Protecting Wild Snow Leopards
Pollyanna was passionate about protecting endangered species in their natural habitat. In her memory, The Foundation has purchased two motion sensor cameras, for the Snow Leopard Trust to use in a vital project to protect one of the world’s most beautiful and endangered big cats.
Due to their small populations, and elusive nature, Snow Leopards are one of the hardest species to study. We still know very little about how many snow leopards there really are, and what parts of their range are particularly good habitats – and as a result, it is difficult to know how well conservation programs are working, and whether efforts are being invested in the right areas. The Snow Leopard Trust team in India is partnering with the government of the state of Himachal Pradesh to change that. Over the next 3 years, they are planning to come up with a solid estimate of the snow leopard population in Himachal Pradesh, one of five Indian states that have snow leopards
The most important tool for such a population study are camera traps. These rugged cameras are equipped with heat and motion sensors, and automatically take a picture of any animal that moves in front of them. If set up systematically across a landscape over a long enough period of time, camera traps allow researchers to calculate reliably how many snow leopards live in the area.
This is the key to designing effective conservation programs to protect these cats. Specifically the project will Tackle Illegal Trade and Poaching of Snow Leopards by directing rangers and resources to the most vital areas.
In the harsh, extreme conditions of the Indian Himalayas a particularly sturdy and long-lasting camera trap is required, and the Foundation has purchased two Reconyx HC500 cameras at a cost of $1000.00 The data provided by ‘Pollyanna’s cameras’ will tell the trust where the hotspots for these cats are – and which areas are in worse shape. This will help them decide where to invest most of their energy and resources in the future and have the biggest possible impact for snow leopards!
We aim to continue supporting this project by raising funds to provide further cameras and resources for the team on the ground.
We are delighted to report that the cameras are already in place, and we are excited to be able to share with you some of the photos they produce in future newsletters! Pollyanna is pictured above with a snow leopard cub in a private breeding project in Germany – Pollyanna was invited to stay there for two weeks as artist in residence – and this cub was destined to be flown to the Himalayas as part of a release project to increase the wild populations. Snow leopards were one of Pollyanna’s favourite big cats to paint – but also one of the few species she did not manage to see in the wild. Despite spending six weeks trekking through the Himalayan country of Bhutan, they remained elusive – all she saw were footprints in the snow. She had been planning a future expedition to Mongolia in search of the cats, but sadly this was not to be.
We hope that the cameras we have purchased in her name will see many of these exquisite leopards as they roam wild in their remote mountain home.
