Remarkable photos of an endangered snow leopard being collared from the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area have been shared by WWF Nepal. The recent snow leopard, collared on 8 May 2017 is the fourth to be collared in four years. The photos which have been captured by Sanjog Rai had me at a loss for words. To see such a magnificent wild animal, high in the Himalayas is an incredible moment. According to WWF Nepal, the snow leopard “a sub-adult female about two years of age and weighing 30kg, was tracked and fitted with a satellite-GPS collar, and released into the wild at 11:36am at an altitude of 4,838m. She was named Yalung by the local people after the name of a local area which is planned to be developed as a snow leopard ecotourism site in the future. Yalung will be closely monitored by the government, WWF and local citizen scientists following the collaring”.
The first snow leopard was collared back in 2013, followed by 2015 and 2016. The government had given permission to collar four snow leopards in the area. Previously collared snow leopards have helped Nepali conservationists understand the movement of the endangered animals, its habitats and behaviour which is believed to further support in future conservation efforts. A snow leopard was recorded to have reached a high altitude of 5,858m, the highest documented so far for snow leopards in the world.
[Read the full WWF Nepal article]
This is just incredible!
