Snow leopards caught on camera near Mt Everest
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Wild snow leopards have been captured on camera in Tibet, close to Mount Everest, suggesting that the endangered species might be living on the world’s highest peak, researchers said on Friday.
Lhapa Tsering, an official with the Administration Bureau of the Qomolangma reserve said the population density of endangered cats in Dingri and Gyirong counties on the north face of the mountain was surveyed between October and November last year.
The research was conducted by the Mount Qomolangma Snow Leopard Conservation Center and the Wildlife Institute of Beijing Forestry University, he said.
Qomolangma is the local name for Everest.
Clear images of the snow leopards were provided by seven infrared cameras placed at an altitude of 4,000 meters, the official said, though the number of actual animals has yet to be decided.
More data will be collected from the 113 other cameras sited in the area, he said, adding that this should be done over the coming days.
Gao Yufang, executive director of the conservation center, said that scientists hope the information from the cameras will tell them more about the snow leopards’ prey and habitat, which will then provide the basis for their ongoing protection efforts.
Snow leopards, which have Class A protected status in China, are usually found in the Himalayas in central and south Asia at altitudes of between 3,000 and 5,500 meters.
The animal has rarely been seen in the wild over the past century due to loss of habitat and poaching.
There are an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 of the big cats living in the wild, of which about 2,500 to 3,500 are in China.
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