Summary
Key takeaway: Protected areas alone will not be enough to keep snow leopards safe – the home range these cats need are simply too large.
Highlights: Our scientists have safely captured, radio-collared and tracked an unprecedented number of snow leopards in the wild. Through GPS satellite tracking, we’ve found that snow leopards use significantly larger home ranges than previously assumed – 200 km2 for males, and more than 120 km2 for females. We’ve found that most protected areas in snow leopard habitat aren’t large enough to hold even one breeding pair of these cats – let alone a healthy population.
Why it matters: This paper demonstrates that snow leopard conservation cannot be confined to protected areas, but instead needs to be approached on a larger, landscape-level scale, involving local communities, authorities, businesses and other stakeholders. The GSLEP program tries to do just that: expand snow leopard conservation efforts well beyond protected area boundaries.
Title: Land sharing is essential for snow leopard conservation
Publication: Biological Conservation
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