Thursday, July 27, 2006
"Snow Leopard"- "Palang-e-Sefid" (Uncia Uncia) Filmed For the First Time...
Just a few days ago a camera crew was out in a remote mountainous region in Northern Iran filming the habitat and searching for wild animals native to the area when suddenly a white, large cat was spotted through the camera lens.
The camera crew immediately recognized this beautiful creature as a Snow Leopard, scientifically named Uncia Uncia, which had not been captured on film for almost a decade or more inside Iran.
The best part about seeing this animal, although scrawny and underfed in the film, was that I was discussing their plight with a friend just yesterday. I remember reading about the hunting parties that drove their species to near extinction and the disorganized, underpaid state of the environmentalists and animal activists within Iran being unable to control poaching of these animals. Because of their prized fur, and their small numbers, most of these Snow Leopards have been transferred to wildlife parks where they are bred and have grown in numbers but still suffer in the wild because of the lack of protectionism.
The strangest aspect about these Snow Leopards is their inability to roar or purr, leaving them in complete silence; however, I hope that there will be changes in policy and more money sent to the national parks to protect what is left of them for future generations to enjoy.
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Because my other blog has exceeded its bandwidth usage on eponym.com I've continued to work on this one, and I hope everyone watches VOA's Rountable tonight, with Nazanin Afshin-Jam!
The camera crew immediately recognized this beautiful creature as a Snow Leopard, scientifically named Uncia Uncia, which had not been captured on film for almost a decade or more inside Iran.
The best part about seeing this animal, although scrawny and underfed in the film, was that I was discussing their plight with a friend just yesterday. I remember reading about the hunting parties that drove their species to near extinction and the disorganized, underpaid state of the environmentalists and animal activists within Iran being unable to control poaching of these animals. Because of their prized fur, and their small numbers, most of these Snow Leopards have been transferred to wildlife parks where they are bred and have grown in numbers but still suffer in the wild because of the lack of protectionism.
The strangest aspect about these Snow Leopards is their inability to roar or purr, leaving them in complete silence; however, I hope that there will be changes in policy and more money sent to the national parks to protect what is left of them for future generations to enjoy.
*
Because my other blog has exceeded its bandwidth usage on eponym.com I've continued to work on this one, and I hope everyone watches VOA's Rountable tonight, with Nazanin Afshin-Jam!
