July 18, 2012—In spring, 2012 conservationists fitted snow leopards with satellite collars in Afghanistan for the first time. Since then, one of the big cats has already roamed more than a hundred miles (160 kilometers).
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists snow leopards as endangered, meaning they face "a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future." The team hopes its tracking data can spur protection of the leopards' Afghan habitat—and help ensure a rosier future for the rare cats.
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SOT: "Yeah, hold him, hold him. Help John."
Scientists have captured and fitted two adult snow leopards with satellite collars in Afghanistan for the first time.
SOT: "Keep him flat. Neck straight."
Wildlife Conservation Society researchers and Afghan veterinarians, with funding from National Geographic, are hoping to learn more about the travels and habits of the endangered snow leopards to help save the species.
Each cat was measured, DNA samples were taken and they were weighed.
Adult snow leopards weigh between 60 and 120 pounds. They have large paws, ideally adapted to travel on rocky terrain and deep snow drifts.
SOT: "Wow, that's big!"
They have thick fur to survive harsh winters.
And their coloring blends in with the rocky terrain where they roam.
Snow leopards range across Asia from Russia to Nepal. They've been on the IUCN endangered species list since 1972.
Their existence is threatened by several factors, including poaching for their skins, fur and body parts for the medicinal trade, loss of habitat and prey, and retaliatory killing by shepherds and villagers when the leopards attack livestock.
The two collared snow leopards were released and headed up the Hindu Kush (KOOSH - like push) Mountains, in Afghanistan's Wakhan (wah-KAHN) Corridor.
Since the snow leopards' release in the spring, one has travelled more than 77 miles and the other more than 95 miles.
The capture and release seen here was filmed by a production crew for the television special, "Snow Leopards of Afghanistan" premiering in December on the Nat Geo Wild Channel.
