Conservationists have discovered a healthy population of snow leopards in northeastern Afghanistan, the Wildlife Conservation Society reports.
Rangers trained by the society used camera traps to find the endangered cats at 16 locations in Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, according to a study that appears in the June 29 issue of the Journal of Environmental Studies.
"This is a wonderful discovery - it shows that there is real hope for snow leopards in Afghanistan," said Peter Zahler, WCS deputy director for Asia programs. "Now our goal is to ensure that these magnificent animals have a secure future as a key part of Afghanistan's natural heritage."
The society estimates 4,500 to 7,500 snow leopards remain in the wild across Central Asia.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has helped fund the study of the economic impact of wildlife and agriculture in Afghanistan, the New York-based society said.
I am the real Juan ! Juan Valdez coffee grower extrordinaire ! Behold my greatness ! My coffee es muy bueno ! Muy bueno ! 🙂
@Juan: Keep your burro's beans out of my cup. The best part of waking up is you away from my mouth.
We've been crawling all over Afghaniistan for 10 years but we've only just found these guys....in 16 locations? And yet we claim to "know" exactly how many polar bears and whales we have. And they say Christians rely on faith!
I love obama and I am a republican!! At first i thought he was worse then terrible, but now my view has changed. He has not raised taxes on families with incomes over 250k (yippie). He flooded the economy with cash, so my stock investments jumped in value. He bot US debt allowing me a 4% loan on a million dollar house. And now he is in talks to cut spending on social programs. He is just as good as the GOP. Next up second vacation home!
....doesn't mean anything, Beer Hunter.
my opinion es muy bueno too ! i like tacos y burritos ! OLE !
10 four: i find u to be hilarious with the anti-hunting comments. have you ever been to iowa or illinois? those darn deer are everywhere! pretty darn scary when 1 of those big ass things jumps out in front of you while on the freeway! if your lucky the dumb deer missed ur car and saved you and ur loved ones life! thin em out! kill it n grill it baby! yummy if its gutted n cleaned n cooked right
WHOOPS! NOW they've done it! The Taliban is totally screwed now! Nevermind the military, they are going to be innundated with Greenpeace and PETA, they are done for!
The Carlyle Group...in my pants
Is this another government associated, taxpayer funded endeavor ? We're fighting a war and they're looking for cats ?
....is Jazzzzz sweet on Phillip?
I,say that is neat.Nevermind,killing them.What,a sight that must be.God,must want them,ther for a reason. JoAnn Bartholomew
lets go over there and shoot one and stuff it...