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Nepal’s low-altitude snow leopard would face big hurdles in return to wild

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LALITPUR, Nepal — As the gates to the vet clinic at the Central Zoo in Lalitpur opened, more than two dozen photojournalists thronged the facility and surrounded a metal cage aiming their DSLR cameras at a snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inside. “Please don’t come close to the animal,” the zoo’s vet, Radha Krishna Gharti, told approaching photojournalists. But in the gush of excitement to take exclusive photographs of the elusive cat, difficult to spot even in its prime habitats, there were few takers for the word of caution. Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation organized the photo-op two days after the male subadult cat, which was until recently found in the country only at altitudes higher than 2,000-6,000 meters (6,600-19,700 feet) above sea level, was brought to the zoo from Urlabari town(146 m, or 480 ft, above sea level). According to the department, the animal has sustained injuries to its right foreleg and can’t stand upright. Although officials involved said they are looking at releasing the animal into the wild after it recuperates, doing so will be a daunting task, adding that the zoo may be the only place where it can now survive. Reporters and photojournalists take photos of a snow leopard being held at the Central Zoo in Lalitpur, Nepal. Image by Abhaya Raj Joshi/ Mongabay “Nepali snow leopard experts have come up with two hypotheses to explain how the animal from the mountains landed up in the plains,” said Sharad Chandra Adhikari, member-secretary at the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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