Ghosts of the Mountains

High up in the Himalayan mountains, lives an animal that is a perfect example of evolutionary adaptation. This animal is the Snow Leopard and they are extremely rare to find in wild, but now due to rapid climate change, it is even harder to find one of these fantastic beasts. The snow leopard is perfectly adapted to the steep mountain cliffs and the frigid temperatures that are present in the Himalayas. Unfortunately for the snow leopard, this habitat is becoming ever smaller due to increasing global temperatures. Not only is the snow leopard losing its habitat, its food supply is also diminishing due to increasing advancement of humans.

Now the governments of the 12 Asian countries that the snow leopard currently inhabits are banding together in an attempt to protect the animal from extinction. These countries of agreed to enforce stricter penalties on illegal pouching of these animals and to set up safe sanctuaries for the snow leopard to live in. In addition, the UN Secretary-General has called on all nations to implement stricter pollution regulation in an attempt decrease the trend of climate change that affects all animal species on this planet, humans included.

While the decreasing population of an already rare animal may seem trivial given some of the world events currently playing out, the reasons for these decreases affect humans everyday. The increased temperatures in the Himalayas affect the water supply for the nearly 330 million people that live in that area. Also, the melting of the snow caps can and already has caused sever flooding. Such drastic affects of climate change are seen throughout the entire planet and can dire consequences for every single living creature that inhabits this planet.

Tyler Allen
Full Article: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/opinions/long-rutherford-snow-leopards/index.html