European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tracking the elusive Snow Leopard National geographic he Snow Leopard was Down eyes wide and dilated from the immobilizing drug. Wildlife biologist Rodney Jackson gently placed a radio Collar around the animal s neck then tattooed a Small "1" on the inside of his left ear to identify him in Case the Collar was shed and he was re trapped. Less than 15 minutes after the drug had taken effect the cat began to recover. Soon he rolled to his feet and moved unsteadily up a slope. The world s first radio collared Snow Leopard was on the move. Rare shy and solitary the Snow Leopard haunts the Snow capped mountains of inner Asia like a storied but Seldom seen phantom. Working in the Langu Gorge area of Western Nepal one of the world s most Remote and rugged regions Jackson and his associates Darte Hufard and Gary a from tracked and photographed five Snow leopards that they had fitted with radio collars. H we a significant achievement. Until then almost nothing had been known about the Snow Leopard s habits in the wild hardly surprising Given its shyness camouflage and almost inaccessible habitat. Few people have seen a free roaming Snow Leopard much less photographed one. Patience resourcefulness and technology paid off with rare photographic coverage in the june National geographic. The two photographs in the Magazine and the one on the cover Are the Only self portraits of Snow leopards in existence. To get the photographs the team selected a site on wildlife Blo Loilit Rodney Etc ton carefully fit m aerated now Leopard with a radio Cottar. A  Trail marked by scent sprays droppings and scratchings. There they hid a pressure pad the Type used in Security systems. From the pad wires led to a refocused camera Assembly with Flash mounted on a tripod and carefully covered with Brush. During the 561 nights that a camera was in place Only two dozen or so cats ventured near the pad. Jackson received the biggest Shock of his expedition while re collaring one of the Snow leopards. Recovering sooner than expected from a Normal dose of the immobilizing drug the Leopard bit him. Jackson suffered deep punctures and a bloody Gash that exposed knuckle and Bone Between two of his fingers. Jackson had to go to Kathmandu for treatment and he lost a month of working time. He writes our friends in Kathmandu took Delight in making me a most reluctant celebrity of i want you to meet Rodney Jackson. He s been bitten by a Snow Leopard " the entire team of scientists endured hardships and risked death on the precipitous mountainsides. But terrain difficult for humans is Ideal for Snow leopards. Huge paws and heavily muscled shoulders make it easy for them to climb crags and ridges. Dense Smoky Gray fur dappled with Black rosettes provides warmth and camouflage from the Bharat or Blue sheep their natural prey in the Langu Gorge. Were it not for the Beautiful and evocative sound of the words Snow Leopard i would be tempted to consider crag Leopard a More Apt description writes Jackson. For one thing Leopard prey is usually found below the permanent Snow line. But Snow leopards have been know to Cross 18,000-foot passes on occasion or meander across High glaciers As they move Between major  considering the relative Scarcity of prey the Home ranges of Jackson s collared cats proved remarkably Small averaging about 12 Square Miles a figure that does not take into account the surface area within the rugged Topography. Given the abundance of leopards in the Central study area and their attraction to common travel corridors they seemed successful at avoiding one another except during mating season january through March. Then their High pitched bowls pierced the frigid nights. One Day Jackson saw one of his collared cats sauntering along a Mountainside with two big cubs behind her. They romped and chased one another rolling Down the Steep slope he writes. They stalked imaginary sheep. They leapt and charged like Kittens instead of year Olds the Langu Gorge and its Side canyons provide Ideal Sanctuary for leopards and their prey writes Jackson who acknowledges the importance of information on Bharat gathered by Karan , a lecturer from Tri Bhuvan University Kathmandu. In less rugged High Mountain areas however Jackson found that the cats face poor Odds. To help them. Nepal has created the King Mahendra Trust for nature conservation. H Hopes to strike a balance Between nature conservation and human needs. Six Mountain Parks and reserves have been set aside for wildlife. But simply setting aside Parkland is not enough Jackson writes for villages Are a fact of life in Nepal s Parks. They must be managed so that Man and wildlife can coexist  survival program Sautter Enow Leopard in Nepal triggered am i from a hidden camera and took lit own picture by to a plug on a camouflaged pressure pad. Page 18 the stars and stripes National geographic now leopards in the wild face an Uncertain future but those in Captivity May have a Chance. So say leaders of the species survival plan of the american association of zoological Parks and aquariums. The plan was designed to strengthen and coordinate Breeding programs of endangered species in zoos. The program to help Snow leopards is now in its second year. Helen Freeman of Seattle s Woodland Park zoo and Dan Wharton of new York s Bronx zoo coordinate the program which seeks to maintain a population of about 220 Snow leopards in some 40 zoos in the United states. We think this number of animals keeps the Supply and demand in balance and ensures a Good genetic diversity says Wharton. By treating All the leopards As a single population the zoos readily Exchange them for Breeding purposes. Sunday july 20.1986 records on each Leopard show its Bloodline and the Date and results of its last mating. This allows the zoos to control the number of leopards and maintain Strong bloodlines by avoiding excessive inbreeding. We now have the capacity to produce far More Snow leopards than we can possibly accommodate in Captivity so Only about 20 pairs of animals Are selected for mating each year says Wharton. Age and an animal s Bloodline usually determine which animals mate in a Given  besides helping to maintain a genetically balanced Snow Leopard population the program allows zoos that have Only one Snow Leopard or several of the same sex to Breed their cats without buying new ones. Of equal importance is the information on Breeding and health care that is circulated among zoos. With wildlife habitats increasingly threatened. Bronx zoo director William g. Conway predicts that within 25 years zoos with programs such As the species survival plan will become major centers for the preservation of Many of the world s big vertebrates