Snow Leopards restored to their homes in Afghanistan

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Long since the Snow Leopards have abounded the Hindu-Kush Mountains that border around Afghanistan and Pakistan, falling prey to the hands of human cruelty and natural disasters till their population declined drastically over the past decades. Thus to preserve the rare cat species, conservationist have been working for seven years until recently it was confirmed that their population have raised over a hundred in Afghanistan.

The cat species is native to the mountain ranges in Central Asia with an estimated population of 3290-6390 living in the wild. But in Afghanistan the numbers were fast shrinking due to hunting, poaching, and killing for pelts until the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society stepped in to aid. Wakhan in Afghanistan has been the site with maximum snow leopard inhabitation, been declared as a National Park in collaboration with the Government and Local residents, the region has now shown an increase in the cat population. Although threatened by hunters and farmers killing the beasts to protect their livestock, Wakhan remains as a hopeful tourist attraction with the leopards as the best highlight. The return of the Snow Leopards to these remote lands, brought about by sheer human effort underlines the fact that conservation even in the smallest way can become very significant in nature.

Through constant efforts and transforming Wakhan in a 4200 square mile acre of National Park, the WCS have done an amazing job preserving the Snow Leopards. The National Park protects the natives, has helped them build fences to protect their livestock and also developed a compensation program for locals when their livestock are killed. These efforts have not only made the cat population, but also educated the natives on the importance of conserving the species. And thus away from the terrors of the Taliban war, tucked in snow and remotely located, Wakhan promises to emerge as a National Park more popular than others in the country with the Snow Leopards as the best attraction. As expressed by Mostapha Zaher, director general of the National Environment Protection Agency in Afghanistan, to AP-“When peace returns to Afghanistan—and it will, as no war lasts forever—Wakhan has great potential for ecotourism,” Wakhan remains hopeful to welcoming tourists. Tourism is sure to bring progress to this remote location, besides making Wakhan a shining example of Conservation of Species.