Snow leopards spotted in 10 counties, one district in Nagqu, Tibet (8)

A Pallas’s cat is seen in Nagqu, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the Shan Shui Conservation Center)

Infrared cameras have captured images of snow leopards in 10 counties and one district in Nagqu city, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, a special survey discovered.

The survey, jointly conducted by the forestry and grassland bureau of Nagqu and the Shan Shui Conservation Center, is the first one that has been carried out across Nagqu to learn about the distribution information of snow leopards. The survey also found that Nagqu is an important habitat for snow leopards, with the health status of all snow leopards inhabiting Nagqu being good. The snow leopard is under first-class national protection in China.

By December 2021, some 143 infrared cameras installed in snow leopards’ habitats in Nagqu had captured images of the animals more than 100 times over a combined 9,323 days that the cameras were in operation.

In addition to snow leopards, images of other animals that are also under first-class national protection in China, including jackals, Tibetan wild donkeys, alpine musk deer, red gorals and white-lipped deer, as well as 13 animals under second-class national protection in China, have also been captured.

Local herders took part in the survey activities by placing and managing the infrared cameras. Prior to the survey, they had received training on relevant skills, including learning about the habitats of snow leopards and using infrared cameras.

By involving local herders into the program, Nagqu is expected to establish a long-term stable monitoring network. After years of training, the herders are basically capable of carrying out monitoring activities, and they are expected to play a bigger role in this respect if they receive further training, said Zhao Xiang, head of the Shan Shui Conservation Center.