snow leopards

Researchers estimate that there are between 3,500 and 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild. There are about 600 of these cats in zoos around the world.
Snow leopards are sparsely distributed across 12 countries in Central Asia: China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia. China contains as much as 60% of the snow leopard's habitat.
In Kazakhstan the skin of snow leopard is sold for $ 10000. In Pakistan and Nepal snow leopard has been killed by the farmers for saving their livestock.
Reasons for the snow leopard's decline include hunting for fur and as a trophy, killing by farmers because of its reputation as a livestock predator, and loss of prey due to man's hunting of the prey and competition of prey with domestic livestock. Large scale pika and marmot poisoning programs have also been conducted on the Tibetan Plateau. Recently, use of its bones in oriental medicine has been a major reason for commercial poaching, since cites has decreased the trade in its skins.