Another big cat successfully collared in Himalaya

KATHMANDU, Nepal– The Kangchanjunga Conservation Area (KCA) has yet again put in radio collar on another snow leopard, thanks to the efforts of conservation official that is beleved to make easier access of real-time information on the movement of snow leopard through Global Positioning System (GPS). A team of experts from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) installed the radio-collar on the male leopard weighing 45 kilograms, nicknamed as ‘Pasang Dorje’. This is the second time that snow leopards are being monitored in Nepal through radio collaring. Earlier in last December, conservation officials were succeeded in collaring of first snow leopard nicknamed as Kumbhakarna in the KCA. The conservation officials will analyze information about GPS points over the next two years until they understand big cat’s behaviour, its activities and potential threat direct from Kathmandu. Of 11 blocks in the KCA, four of them have been identified as major habitat of the leopards. The WWF has planned to set up the collars on at least six leopards in the area. The data collected via the radio collar will be directly studied and monitored by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Kathmandu. Nepal’s Himalayan range is believed to be home to at least 300 snow leopards. Snow leopard is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)´s red list of threatened species.