AMERICAN AID FOR PAKISTANI SNOW LEOPARD FACILITY

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http://www.dailyindia.com/show/49748.php/US_to_help_build_snow_leopard_facility_\

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US to help build snow leopard facility for Pakistan (LEAD)

 

By Arun Kumar, Indo-Asian News Service

 

Washington, Aug 9 (IANS) The US, in appreciation of Pakistan's role as a

'key ally in the war on terror', says it will assist in the development of a

snow leopard rehabilitation centre in the Northern Areas of

Pakistan-administered Kashmir as part of efforts to deepen its relationship.

 

 

'The US values Pakistan as a key ally in the war on terror and is working

with Pakistan to broaden and deepen its bilateral relationship. US diplomacy

has many facets and protecting endangered species is one of them,' a media

note from the office of the State Department spokesman said in announcing

the move.

 

The development of the centre will follow the transfer of an orphaned snow

leopard cub, one of the world's most endangered mammals, from 'the northern

Pakistan region of Upper Naltar' to a temporary home at the Bronx Zoo. The

snow leopard cub from Pakistan will join four males and eight females

currently at the zoo.

 

This cooperative venture demonstrated the breadth of US-Pakistan relations

and signals an important victory for wildlife worldwide, said the Assistant

Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science Claudia A. McMurray,

who played a key role in facilitating the transfer.

 

Originally from the Naltar Valley, high in the Karakoram Mountains, the snow

leopard cub, now approximately 13 months old and 27 kg, was turned over to

the Pakistani authorities in July 2005 by the local goat herder who rescued

it.

 

The herder and his family had provided shelter for the cub in their home and

later in their grain shed. As the cub grew, the herder approached World Wide

Fund for Nature (WWF) consultants working in the region for help and they

temporarily took over the cub's care. The cub was relocated south to Gilgit,

where the Pakistan government assumed responsibility for its care.

 

As housing a snow leopard requires specialised facilities that do not yet

exist in Pakistan, the government determined it was in the best interests of

the species to allow this cub to be loaned to the Bronx Zoo/Wildlife

Conservation Society, which has an established snow leopard habitat.

 

In addition, the Wildlife Conservation Society will assist Pakistan with the

development of a snow leopard rehabilitation centre in the Northern Areas,

including training future staff for the facility, the note said.

 

The US embassy in Islamabad has worked on this since news of the orphaned

cub was first received and officials there were instrumental in developing

the agreement between the government of Pakistan and the Wildlife

Conservation Society.

 

Senior State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary McMurray,

were brought in early and played a key role in overall arrangements for the

transfer, it added.

 

Copyright Indo-Asian News Service