Scientists stunned after rare species makes an unbelievable comeback: 'Rebounded to near-historic levels'
Kazakhstan's snow leopard population is on the rise.
According to the Times of Central Asia, over 150 snow leopards were living in Kazakhstan as of February 2025. That number might seem small, but it is actually a huge deal.
Snow leopards haven't hit those numbers since the 1980s. As the Times puts it, the leopards have "rebounded to near-historic levels." Plus, two cubs were spotted recently, indicating a growing population.
This is thanks to Kazakh laws. The Central Asian country, with help from the United Nations and in collaboration with neighboring Kyrgyzstan, launched a snow leopard conservation project back in 2018.
The results were groundbreaking. Since 2019, the snow leopard population has increased by 26%, with the implementation of protected areas a key strategy in the conservation efforts.
To keep that positive population trend going, Kazakh officials are pushing for expanded protected areas. The country will also offer compensation to farmers whose livestock is killed by snow leopards in order to discourage retaliatory attacks on the predators.
Dubbed the "ghosts of the mountains," humans were (and are) the top threat to these big cats. Their population has dwindled worldwide. According to Eurasian Wildlife and Peoples, there are fewer than 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild.
Since they're top predators, conserving them is crucial to maintaining healthy ecosystems. The Yale School of the Environment states that predators help keep populations in check. Without them, their prey multiplies rapidly, leading to biodiversity loss on a massive scale.
The snow leopard's return spells great news for biodiversity — and humans.
Humans rely on biodiversity for natural resources like lumber, medicine, and food. According to the U.S. National Park Service, it "may help regulate disease, and is necessary for physical, mental, and spiritual health and social well-being."
Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty?
Definitely
Only in some areas
No way
I'm not sure
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.
Researchers around the globe have made tech advancements to revive endangered populations, with camera traps, drones and thermal imaging used in the efforts to protect the snow leopards.
Protected conservation areas have proved effective elsewhere too. In Zambia, for example, the leopard population in Kafue National Park nearly tripled.
The progress in Kazakhstan shows just how much can happen when people collaborate to keep endangered species alive. Here's to upping those numbers.
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Niede Guidon, 92, archaeologist who uncovered prehistoric rock art, dies
In 1979, at her insistence, the Brazilian government made the area a national park, and in 1991, again largely because of her, UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, declared it a World Heritage site. She then became instrumental in the creation of two museums nearby: The Museum of the American Man, which opened in 1996, and the Museum of Nature, in 2018. And she had an outsize role in attracting investment to the town, leading to a new airport and a federal university campus and to vastly improved public education in the region. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'The best way to preserve the paintings was to preserve the surroundings, and to preserve the surroundings, you had to provide resources for the people,' Antoine Lourdeau, a French archaeologist who worked with Ms. Guidon on and off for about a decade starting in 2006, said in an interview. 'I don't think most archaeologists are conscious of the social implications of their own work.' Advertisement Ms. Guidon was particularly effective in training and employing women in a region where men held sway and domestic violence was common, said Adriana Abujamra, the author of a 2023 biography of Guidon. 'I heard many, many touching testimonials to her from women who gained financial autonomy and sent their men to hell,' a Portuguese expression meaning they left their partners, she said. Advertisement Aside from working for the park and museums, some as guides and guards, many locals produce honey and ceramics that are sold nationwide through initiatives that Ms. Guidon started in the 1990s. Niede Guidon was born March 12, 1933, in Jaú, a small city in São Paulo state. Although Neide is a popular Brazilian name, Niede is not. Her father's side of the family was French, and she was named for the Nied River, which runs through France and Germany. After studying natural history at the University of São Paulo and receiving the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in 1958, Ms. Guidon took a job that year as a teacher in the small and predominantly Roman Catholic town of Itápolis. But after denouncing corruption within the school to a São Paulo magazine in early 1959, the town — egged on by school administrators — turned against her. As a single woman who drove a car, skipped Mass, and taught evolution, she was an easy target in largely conservative Itápolis. Tensions grew, and after violent protests, she and two other female teachers fled, escorted by police officers. 'All that was missing to complete the medieval scene was a bonfire to burn the witches,' she told a reporter at the time, according to a 2024 podcast about her life. Advertisement Later that year, she took a job at the Paulista Museum in São Paulo, and it was there that she became interested in archaeology. During a photographic exhibition she had organized — of prehistoric Brazilian rock drawings — visitors from northeastern Brazil showed her photographs of the paintings in Piauí, the ones that she would devote her life to preserving. But not for a while. Her initial attempt to see them, in 1963, failed when the collapse of a bridge prevented her from gaining access to the area. The next year, she fled Brazil to Paris after being tipped off that she would soon be arrested by the new military dictatorship, which had overthrown President João Goulart to gain power. She studied archaeology in France, eventually earning a doctorate from the University of Paris in 1975, though she returned frequently to Brazil for field work. In 1970, Ms. Guidon was finally able to visit the rock paintings in Piauí. Stunned by their complexity, she began to visit regularly, organizing teams for dayslong treks through difficult terrain to catalog what turned out to be hundreds of archaeological sites. She returned to Brazil for good in 1986 and six years later moved to São Raimundo Nonato, where she was known around town as 'Doutora,' or Doctor. In the 1990s, excavations near the painting sites uncovered material — including carbon remains from presumed firepits and chipped stone tools — that laboratories dated to 30,000 years ago. Ms. Guidon was astonished. But other scientists were highly skeptical, especially those from the United States, who adhered to the Clovis model, named after an archaeological site in New Mexico, where evidence supported the theory that humans most likely arrived in the Americas 13,000 years ago by crossing a land bridge that is now the Bering Strait. Advertisement Although scientists now generally agree that humans arrived on the North American continent a few thousand years earlier, Ms. Guidon's findings are still controversial. The question remains whether the materials excavated near the painting sites were created by humans or by natural forces. But her work did bring attention, money, and resources to Piauí, and even some of her academic critics acknowledge her accomplishments. 'She was a stateswoman with a sense of purpose, who knew how to persuade people,' said André Strauss, an archaeologist at the University of São Paulo. He doubted some of Ms. Guidon's findings but nevertheless admired her charisma — so much so that he called her 'the Churchill of northeastern Brazil.' Like Winston Churchill, she had a flair for the dramatic, often threatening to pack up and return to the more refined life she led in Paris as an academic, according to Abujamra's biography. But she never did. On the morning of June 5, she was buried in the garden outside her house in São Raimundo Nonato.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: James Earl Ray escapes from prison
Today is Tuesday, June 10, the 161st day of 2025. There are 204 days left in the year. Today in history: On June 10, 1977, James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Tennessee with six others. He was recaptured three days later. Also on this date: In 1692, the first execution resulting from the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts took place as Bridget Bishop was hanged. In 1854, the U.S. Naval Academy held its first graduation ceremony. In 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain, formally entering Italy into World War II. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at eliminating wage disparities based on gender. In 1967, six days of war in the Mideast involving Israel, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq ended as Israel and Syria accepted a United Nations-mediated ceasefire. In 1978, racehorse Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, won the 110th Belmont Stakes to claim the 11th Triple Crown. Alydar, ridden by Jorge Velasquez, finished a close second in each of the Triple Crown races. In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard of Meyers, California, was abducted by Phillip and Nancy Garrido; Dugard was held by the couple for 18 years before she was found by authorities. In 2018, the rover Opportunity sent its last message from the surface of Mars. Originally expected to serve a three-month mission, Opportunity functioned for over 14 years, traveling over 28 miles across Mars and unveiling critical discoveries about the planet's geology. In 2009, James von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist, opened fire in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., killing security guard Stephen T. Johns. (Von Brunn died at a North Carolina hospital in January 2010 while awaiting trial.) In 2020, protesters pulled down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy. Today's Birthdays: Political commentator Jeff Greenfield is 82. Actor Frankie Faison is 76. Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is 74. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is 72. Actor Gina Gershon is 63. Actor-model Elizabeth Hurley is 60. Comedian Bill Burr is 57. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is 53. R&B singer Faith Evans is 52. Actor Hugh Dancy is 50. Country musician Lee Brice is 46. Actor Leelee Sobieski is 42. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski is 43. Model Kate Upton is 33. Former first daughter Sasha Obama is 24.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Safe transport of dangerous goods starts with packaging
The safe transport of hazardous materials—commonly referred to as hazmat—relies heavily on the integrity and compliance of their packaging. Whether it's flammable liquids, corrosive substances, or toxic chemicals, appropriate hazmat packaging is essential to protect people, property, and the environment. In the UK and globally, strict regulations govern how dangerous goods are packaged, labelled, and handled. Hazmat packaging must meet rigorous international standards to ensure safety during transit. The United Nations (UN) has established a classification system that dictates how hazardous materials are packaged, labelled, and transported. Each substance is assigned a hazard class (e.g., Class 3 for flammable liquids, Class 6.1 for toxic substances) and a packing group (I, II, or III) based on the level of danger. In the UK, the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations align with international frameworks such as ADR (road), RID (rail), and IMDG (sea), requiring that all dangerous goods be contained in UN-certified packaging. This packaging must undergo rigorous testing—including drop, pressure, and leakproofness tests—to ensure it can withstand the rigours of transport. UN-approved packaging is marked with specific codes indicating the type of container, material, and the level of hazard it can safely contain. For instance, a code beginning with "1A1" denotes a non-removable head steel drum suitable for liquids, while "X," "Y," or "Z" indicates the packing group level the container is certified for. Selecting the appropriate packaging depends on the nature of the hazardous material. Common types include: Drums: Available in steel, plastic, or fibreboard, drums are widely used for transporting liquids and powders. Steel drums are ideal for flammable or volatile substances due to their durability and ability to be grounded, reducing static discharge risks. Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs): These are large, reusable containers, typically holding up to 1,000 litres. Made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and often encased in a metal cage, IBCs are suitable for bulk transport of liquids and are designed for easy handling with forklifts. Jerrycans: Smaller containers, usually up to 25 litres, made from metal or plastic. They are commonly used for transporting smaller quantities of hazardous liquids and are valued for their portability and resistance to corrosion. Salvage Drums: These are overpack containers used to contain leaking, damaged, or non-compliant drums. The "T" Salvage Drum, for example, meets stringent UN requirements for the safe recovery and transport of compromised hazardous material containers. The choice of packaging must also consider compatibility with the contents to prevent reactions that could compromise the container's integrity. For example, certain chemicals may corrode plastic, necessitating the use of metal containers. Ensuring safety in the handling and transport of hazardous materials extends beyond selecting the right container. Key best practices include: Proper Labelling: All hazmat packages must be clearly labelled with the appropriate hazard symbols, UN numbers, and handling instructions. This ensures that handlers and emergency responders are aware of the contents and associated risks. Employee Training: Personnel involved in the packaging and transport of hazardous materials must receive comprehensive training. This includes understanding the properties of the materials, packaging requirements, and emergency response procedures. Regular Inspections: Packaging should be routinely inspected for signs of wear, corrosion, or damage. Any compromised containers should be replaced or repackaged in salvage drums to prevent leaks or spills. Record Keeping: Maintaining detailed records of hazardous material shipments, including the types of packaging used and compliance with regulations, is essential for accountability and traceability. Adhering to these practices not only ensures compliance with legal requirements but also significantly reduces the risk of accidents during the transport of hazardous materials. Hazmat packaging is a critical component in the safe and compliant transport of dangerous goods. By understanding the regulations, selecting appropriate packaging, and implementing best practices, businesses can effectively mitigate risks associated with hazardous materials. As industries continue to evolve and new materials are developed, staying informed and proactive in hazmat packaging strategies remains essential for safety and environmental protection. "Safe transport of dangerous goods starts with packaging" was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
