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Snow Leopards of High Asia
Personal encounters and Conservation efforts
Speaker
Charudutt Mishra, Science and Conservation Director, The Snow Leopard Trust, will speak about these elusive cats and the gargantuan task of conserving them. His talk will be peppered with anecdotes of personal encounters with snow leopards and a short film. The talk will cover aspects of the work that goes into the science-based conservation of these rare animals and inclusion of local human populations in the effort. Charudutt will also elaborate on the new threats that have emerged in the recent past with the domain of the snow leopard becoming more and more accessible and the acute need for green development in these areas.
Known throughout the world for its beautiful fur and elusive behavior, the endangered snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is found in the rugged mountains of Central Asia.
Snow leopards are perfectly adapted to the cold, barren landscape of their high-altitude home, but human threats have created an uncertain future for the cats. Despite a range of over 2 million square km, scientist estimate that there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild.
About the Foundation:
The Snow Leopard Trust aims to protect this endangered cat through community-based conservation projects that are based on an improved scientific understanding of snow leopard behavior, needs, habitats and threats. The Snow Leopard Trust has partners and staff members in China, India, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, and Pakistan as well as in the United States (in Seattle, where our headquarters are located) and Europe.
Speaker
Charudutt Mishra
Charudutt Mishra is the Science and Conservation Director of the Snow Leopard Trust, responsible for guiding SLT’s international research and conservation programmes. Headquartered in Seattle, SLT is the largest and oldest organization dedicated to promoting ecosystem and wildlife conservation across the high mountains of South and Central Asia, with the endangered snow leopard as the flagship. Charu currently holds the additional responsibility of Executive Director of SLT.
Charu also serves as the honorary Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Network. SLN is a worldwide organization of leading snow leopard experts and has over 850 member individuals and institutions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Charu is one of the co-founders of the Nature Conservation Foundation, one of India’s leading conservation organizations dedicated to promoting science-based, socially responsible wildlife conservation. Between 2002 and 2008, he served as NCF’s Executive Director, and also headed the India Program of the SLT.
Charu’s chief academic interests lie in understanding human impacts on wildlife and ecosystems, conservation conflicts including wildlife damage and it’s management, natural resource use, large herbivore community ecology and carnivore ecology. Charu has published more than 90 peer reviewed research papers and book chapters, and authored several technical reports. His book focuses on principles and practice of community-based conservation.
Charu has served on the editorial boards of journals such Animal Conservation and Oryx. He serves on the winner selection panel of the Whitley Awards, and is a member of the IUCN’s Cat and Caprinae Specialist Groups.
Charu obtained his Ph.D in Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation from the Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University (The Netherlands) under the supervision of one of the world’s most eminent ecologists, Prof. Dr. HHT Prins. Prior to that, he obtained his MSc degree in Wildlife Sciences with distinction at the Wildlife Institute of India, and a BSc. in Zoology from the University of Delhi (India).
