Sakhawat AliEditor’s Note: “Call to Earth” is a CNN editorial series dedicated to highlighting the environmental challenges our planet faces, along with potential solutions. Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative has teamed up with CNN to raise awareness and promote education on key sustainability issues, aiming to inspire positive action.The recent footage capturing the rare sight of four snow leopards climbing snowy cliffs in northern Pakistan has generated tremendous excitement among conservationists. Snow leopards are known as some of the most elusive creatures in the wild, making it a remarkable achievement to capture footage of not just one, but four of them. This sighting is being hailed as a success story for Pakistan’s conservation efforts.Sakhawat Ali, a gamekeeper and photography enthusiast from the remote village of Hushe, managed to film the snow leopards on March 13 after diligently tracking their pawprints in the snow-covered Central Karakoram National Park, near K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. Ali, who described the snow leopards as a mother and her three cubs, shared that even the elders in the village had never witnessed such a sight before.Ali first spotted the mother snow leopard and then noticed additional pawprints, leading him to eventually witness all four animals together on a snowy cliff. He quickly grabbed his camera and filmed them from a safe distance of 200 meters. The village is celebrating this rare sighting, despite concerns for their livestock.Snow leopards are currently classified as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and are known as the “ghost of the mountains” due to their excellent camouflage in the Karakoram Mountain range. Environmental anthropologist Shafqat Hussain describes the terrain in northern Pakistan as one of the best snow leopard habitats in the world, where these elusive creatures dwell in the high alpine areas of the Himalayas.Though snow leopards are found in 12 nations, including China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Russia, and Mongolia, sightings are extremely rare. Dr. Zakir Hussain, Chief Conservator Parks and Wildlife for Gilgit-Baltistan, views this sighting as a victory in raising awareness among local communities about the importance of protecting these majestic animals. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Pakistan, remains hopeful about the sighting but emphasizes that snow leopards are still endangered and face various threats such as habitat degradation, poaching, and fragmentation due to human activities and livestock herds.It is crucial for local communities to collaborate in safeguarding these remarkable big cats to ensure future generations can continue to witness their magnificence in the wild.
In addition to climate change, infrastructure projects are expected to exacerbate existing threats. The World Bank’s Global Climate Risk Index ranked Pakistan as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change in 2023. Stay updated with more news and newsletters from CNN by signing up at CNN.com.
