Snow leopard populations threatened by climate change and low genetic diversity

Published on 12/10/2025 - 7:00 GMT+2

Snow leopards are astatine a precocious consequence of extinction successful nan wild. Poaching and residence demolition frighten nan felines, which are autochthonal to nan upland ranges of Central and Asia. 

But a caller study, published successful nan Proceedings of nan National Academy of Sciences, shows that their familial constitution could besides beryllium influencing their decline. 

Snow leopards theatened by ambiance change

Snow leopards are a majestic species. One of nan largest cats, these felines are recovered successful nan mountainous regions of 12 Asian countries, including Russia, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Tibet. 

These felines are good adapted to these utmost acold and mountainous environments. They are besides important keystone species: preying connected animals specified arsenic nan bluish sheep of Tibet, nan Siberian ibex, and nan pika.

But location aren’t galore snowfall leopards left: organization estimates scope from 4,500 to 7,500. And because of this mini organization size, they are classified arsenic “vulnerable” connected nan IUCN Red List.

They are besides incredibly susceptible to residence changes caused by ambiance change.

“Because their residence is truthful inhospitable, quality organization maturation didn’t really impact snowfall leopards very much, but ambiance alteration will,” says Dmitri Petrov, a biologist astatine Stanford and 1 of nan study’s authors.  

“Humans don’t request to show up successful their mountains to build aliases commencement agriculture. The ambiance changes, and it affects everyone and everything, moreover successful specified distant areas.”

Low familial density is simply a problem for snowfall leopards

For this study, researchers generated whole-genome sequencing information for 37 snowfall leopards. Prior to this, scientists had only sequenced 4 genomes of nan species.

This caller study recovered that galore of these leopards stock nan aforesaid DNA. This makes sense, arsenic these cats person had a small, unchangeable organization complete a agelong play of time. 

However, debased genetic diversity tin airs a problem for their survival. Individuals that are akin to each different are much susceptible to biology changes, disease, and predators. According to nan study, it increases their consequence of extinction wide successful a changing environment. 

Is location dream for snowfall leopards?

The study besides revealed that snow leopards person a importantly little “homozygous load.” There were less instances of nan cats inheriting perchance harmful mutations. Over time, snowfall leopards were capable to “purge” bad mutations, allowing nan organization to stay comparatively healthy. 

This demonstrates that nan type tin beryllium rather resilient. However, researchers opportunity that isn’t capable to protect against climate change, and dream that this study tin pass early conservation efforts.

“If their residence starts degrading, past snowfall leopards mightiness spell extinct reasonably easily, simply because there’s conscionable not overmuch ecological abstraction for them and nan full organization is truthful small,” says Petrov.