Save Snow Leopards: Fund Predator-Proof Corrals

The best way to protect snow leopards and their habitat is to protect the livelihoods of the people that live in snow leopard territory. 

Help fund predator-proof corrals in snow leopard habitat.

100% of proceeds go to the High Asia Habitat Fund.

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$250 - Fully funds the construction of 1 predator-proof corral
$200 - Buys materials for 1 predator-proof corral
$150 - Funds  labor costs for 3 predator-proof corrals
$125 - Funds half of predator-proof corral
$100 - Buys the chain-link fencing for 1 predator-proof corral
$50 - Buys 25 running feet of steel angles for predator-proof corral frames
$25 - Buys 4 cement bags (50kg each) to set predator-proof corral posts

The Problem
In the high mountains of Asia, when a snow leopard, wolf, lynx, or bear attack livestock, a human-wildlife conflict is all but inevitable.

Shepherding, especially in the high altitudes of the Himalayas, Tien Shan, or the Pamirs is incredibly tough work. Our teams have worked with communities on the front-lines of snow leopard territory for close to two decades. However, much of the money that has gone into community based conservation has come from tourism. Now with COVID-19 all but destroying local tourism based livelihoods, conflict between humans and wildlife has seen a huge uptick.

Just in the past month, there have been at least 7 documented attacks by snow leopards, lynxes, and wolves on corrals and animal pens in Ladakh, India, leading to the loss of over 250 domestic animals.

[A live snow leopard trapped in a corral, exhausted after killing 35 sheep & goats.]

Every time a predator gets into a corral, it usually ends up killing all the animals inside due to its predatory instinct. This not only leads to a devastating financial losses for shepherds who exist on the frontiers of society, but many times leads to the death of the predator itself due to retaliation. Over 400 snow leopards are killed annually across snow leopard range countries.

The Solution
Simply upgrading existing corrals with chain-link fencing on a welded iron frame can prevent predators getting into a corral at night. This critical step prevents the massacre of livestock and prevents snow leopards from being killed. In places where no corrals exists, such as transitional and seasonal high pasture camps, we will build chain-link corrals.

Who Will Benefit?
Nomadic communities across the high Tibetan plateau of the Changthang in Ladakh, India and semi-nomadic communities across the Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan are the beneficiaries of this project. Dozens of nomadic settlements, high camps, and seasonal pastures across this landscapes have no corrals or pens that can guarantee the safety of animals at night.

A snow leopard or wolf entering an unsecured corral can be devastating to a family. On average, most corrals house between 30-50 sheep or goats. With a value of over $100 per animal, this could be over a $5,000 loss for a family -  far beyond their annual income. If you suffered this sort of loss - what would you want to do to the predator that killed your herd?

[Carnage in a corral. A snow leopard got in and killed all the sheep & goats. Note the low walls and a parachute for a roof.]

Why Are We Capable of Implementing This Solution?
All funds will be managed by the High Asia Habitat Fund  - a nonprofit who's mission is to protect High Asia’s critical ecosystems through conserving wildlife, restoring wild habitat, and empowering dependent communities toward conservation.

The High Asia Habitat Fund's coalition of conservationists and wildlife experts have worked with communities at the forefront of human-wildlife conflict in India and Kyrgyzstan for close to two decades.  Our teams operate in some of the harshest conditions with great rates of success. With decades of high-altitude experience in conservation, remote-area projects and infrastructure management, and deep links with local communities, our crews are uniquely skilled to tackle this infrastructure project.

Fund Usage
Funds will be spent on building predator proof corrals where humans and snow leopards are routinely in conflict in the Ladakh region of India as well as in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan. We will leverage our ranger teams and expedition crews to build these alongside prominent nonprofits in the area.

The majority of the funds will be utilized in material costs for chain-link fencing, concrete, and structural modifications and a portion of the funds will also be used to hire work-teams from the local communities, thus generating more local livelihoods at a time when all tourism related jobs have dried up.

Every predator-proof corral built or upgraded will be photographed, geo-tagged, and added on a map viewable on highasiafund.org.

[A pashmina goat killed by a snow leopard inside a non-predator proofed corral.]