Editor's note: October 23 marks the International Snow Leopard Day. The snow leopard, a powerful but vulnerable species, is at risk due to habitat loss, poaching and climate change. To better protect this beautiful and important creature, China established the Qinghai-Xizang Snow Leopard Conservation Alliance. On this day, CGTN Nature takes you to a snow leopard rescue center and learn about snow leopard conservation in China.

When "Ling Bufu" was brought to the rescue center of the Xining Wildlife Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province, he was not at all as beautiful and fierce as the snow leopard's nickname, "ghost of the mountains," describes. With a broken nose, a swollen and bloody head, and worn teeth, he didn't roar or resist and almost lost consciousness.

It all started with a fight he had with a yak.

On a night in November 2022, the snow leopard, who was fed up with eating only mice and rabbits, decided to do something big. He broke into a corral on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, intending to hunt a yak. However, this elderly snow leopard seemed to have forgotten that he broke his sternum while hunting in the past few months. He ran toward the yak, but the yak picked him up without effort with its horns, dragged him, rubbed him, and stomped on him. When the rescuers arrived, he was found huddled and dying.

The irritable snow leopard didn't like treatment or surgery, making the treatment fraught with difficulties. After nearly half a year of treatment, he recovered. Now, he is no longer suffering, and he is full of strength to show his attitude, just as his name says in Chinese: overcoming obstacles in life, fighting all his life and never giving up.

"'Ling' has two meanings. One is snow and ice; the other is to go over. Every rescued snow leopard has faced at least one obstacle in their life, and we hope they can overcome it," said Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of the park.

"Ling Bufu" is not able to return to the wild due to his health condition, so the park becomes his second home. 

"If the rescued snow leopards are in good health, returning them to the wild is undoubtedly the best choice," said Qi.

In March of 2021, a snow leopard broke into a rural home in the province, smashing the windows and injuring the head. After treatment, the leopard was released into the wild wearing a satellite monitor. The monitor showed that he had a range of 4,344 square kilometers, shattering previous knowledge of the snow leopard's range, which was widely believed to be less than 100 square kilometers. The combination of release and monitoring provides scientific assistance for better protection of the snow leopard and its habitat.

On the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, when a snow leopard is injured, it always has a home to heal, and when a snow leopard recovers, it is always free to return to nature and run wild. 

With about 25 percent of the suitable habitat area for snow leopards on the plateau, Qinghai is one of the regions with the most concentrated distribution and highest population density of snow leopards in the world and is also a key area for snow leopard protection. Snow leopards, under China's national first-class protection, play an important role in maintaining the stability of the ecosystem. After years of protection, the population of snow leopards in the province has reached about 1,200.

To share snow leopard monitoring and research experience and explore a better way to protect snow leopards, the Qinghai-Xizang Snow Leopard Conservation Alliance was established on Monday with the participation of 96 parties, including institutions, enterprises and social organizations.

"The establishment of the alliance provides a holistic strategy for snow leopard conservation in China, instead of protection being separated by each protected area and each distribution area," said Yin Lun, a researcher at Southwest Forestry University in China.

"At the same time, it promotes the participation of local ethnic communities to achieve co-management for snow leopard conservation based on traditional knowledge related to biodiversity," he added.

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