Livestock Insurance: A Game Changer for People and Animals

Livestock kills by snow leopards are a part of everyday life for many herder communities in Asia’s mountains. The financial impact on these families can be devastating, and retaliation against the cat is commonplace. But the Snow Leopard Trust’s innovative, community-run livestock insurance program is breaking this vicious cycle.

The Man Who Used To Hate Snow Leopards

Amarsaikhan is a herder in the Tost Mountains of Mongolia. Everyone here calls him Amara. He has spent his entire life living alongside the elusive snow leopard – not seeing the cat very often, but feeling its presence much more frequently than he’d have cared for. Every year, snow leopards killed several of his horses and fawns—an expense he and his community could hardly withstand. Amara not only feared these cats – “to be honest, I think I hated them”, he says. On several occasions, he attempted to kill snow leopards that had come near his camp. Luckily, he never succeeded.