Mountains Without Borders: Scaling up Conservation Success for Snow Leopards

Abstract

This special issue explores the evolving scientific and management landscape of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) conservation, highlighting a twentyfold increase in research output alongside the persistent threats of climate change and habitat fragmentation. The assembled studies address three core themes: establishing population baselines at geographic range edges, advancing non-invasive genomic and prey monitoring methodologies, and evaluating landscape connectivity across political boundaries. Findings reveal a significant “governance-ecology mismatch,” where current protected areas fail to encompass vital movement corridors and transboundary home ranges. To ensure the long-term persistence of this cryptic apex predator, the editorial advocates for a transition from site-specific protection to integrated, landscape-scale conservation characterized by standardized monitoring, protected corridors, and coordinated international governance.