Apple Helping Snow Leopards

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http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0907-snow_leopard.html

 

*Apple's Snow Leopard helps real-life cats

mongabay.com

September 07, 2009

 

 

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**Apple's release of its new operating system, dubbed " Snow Leopard " , is

helping raise awareness of the plight of one of the world's most endangered

big cats, reports the Snow Leopard Trust, a group working to protect the

real-life snow leopard in its mountainous habitat across Central Asia.

 

" This is a boon for wild snow leopards, " said Brad Rutherford, Executive of the Snow Leopard Trust, " Apple is helping to show the world the

beauty and majesty of this rare creature. "

 

Rutherford says the software launch has made consumers aware that the snow

leopard is indeed a real animal and encouraged some of Apple's partners to

support snow leopard conservation, including donating a portion of profits.

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More than three dozen Apple Specialist stores from California to New York

are helping the Snow Leopard Trust sell cub adoption kits (specially priced

for Mac’s new OS release) to raise money for conservation. Tekserve, an

Apple Specialist retailer in New York, has decided to donate all the

proceeds from the first 100 Mac OS X operating systems they sell. A full

list of participating Apple Specialists is available at

www.applespecialist.com/adoptions.

 

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" The launch of the new OS will hopefully put snow leopards front and center

and drive people to find out more, " Rutherford said.

 

" We have a new donor match going on through October, " he continued. " For all

the Apple partners, anything they give will be matched—that means they can

have double the impact for snow leopard conservation.”

 

The snow leopard (*Panthera uncia*) is one of the rarest and most elusive

big cat species with a population of 4,500 to 7,500 spread across a range of

1.2 to 1.6 million kilometers in some of the world's harshest and most

desolate landscapes. Found in arid environments and at elevations sometimes

reaching 18,000 feet (5,500 meters), the species faces great threats despite

its extreme habitat. These threats vary across its range, but in all

countries where it is found — Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan,

Kazakhstan, Nepal, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and

possibly Myanmar — the species is at risk. In some countries snow leopard

are directly hunted for their pelt, in others they are imperiled by

depletion of prey, loss of habitat, and killing as a predator of livestock.

These threats, combined with the cat's large habitat requirements, means

conservation through the establishment of protected areas alone may not be

enough save it from extinction in the wild in many of the countries in which

it lives.

 

Snow Leopard Trust <http://www.snowleopard.org/>

Snow Leopard Conservancy <http://www.snowleopardconservancy.org/index.htm>

 

 

 

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*Photos: snow leopard in Afghanistan

<http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0830-hance_snowleopard-afghan.html>*

 

(08/31/2009) Using camera traps, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has

captured the elusive and rare snow leopard on film in Afghanistan for a

second time. The feline was caught on film in the Sast Valley in

Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor. The snow leopard is currently listed as

Endangered by the IUCN. The cat is also listed as protected under

Afghanistan's new endangered species list, which outlaws hunting it. The

IUCN estimates that only 100-200 snow leopards still survive in Afghanistan.

 

 

 

*How to Save Snow

Leopards<http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1028-interview_jackson.html>

*

 

(10/28/2008) The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is one of the rarest and most

elusive big cat species with a population of 4,500 to 7,500 spread across a

range of 1.2 to 1.6 million kilometers in some of the world's harshest and

most desolate landscapes. Found in arid environments and at elevations

sometimes reaching 18,000 feet (5,500 meters), the species faces great

threats despite its extreme habitat. These threats vary across its range,

but in all countries where it is found — Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India,

Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan,

Uzbekistan and possibly Myanmar — the species is at risk. In some countries

snow leopard are directly hunted for their pelt, in others they are

imperiled by depletion of prey, loss of habitat, and killing as a predator

of livestock. These threats, combined with the cat's large habitat

requirements, means conservation through the establishment of protected

areas alone may not be enough save it from extinction in the wild in many of

the countries in which it lives. Working to stave off this fate in half a

dozen of its range countries is the Snow Leopard Conservancy. Founded by Dr.

Rodney Jackson, a biologist who has been studying snow leopard in the wild

for 30 years, the Conservancy seeks to conserve the species by " promoting

innovative grassroots measures that lead local people to become better

stewards of endangered snow leopards, their prey, and habitat. "