Tuesday cat fight

Tonight two big cats go head to head in the same timeslot. The ABC’s Foreign Correspondent shows how a program to save snow leopards in the Indian Himalaya could be a template for saving big cats around the world. Reporter Eric Campbell treks with a pony train high into the Indian Himalaya to find out how locals are learning to love the leopards, rather than fear them.

This doco explores the truth that snow leopards roam the harsh mountain terrain of 12 countries, including China, Afghanistan, the “stans” of Central Asia, India and Russia. In many places they are hunted for their pelts, and for their body parts, for use in Chinese medicine. Farmers view them as dangerous pests who prey on their livestock. 20 percent of the world’s species will disappear by 2050, according to the UN Environment Program. The majestic snow leopard is on the critical list, but a successful conservation program is turning things around in northern India.

Campbell meets local farmers who are being trained to use remote control cameras to track the leopards. They’re also given assistance to construct predator proof pens for their livestock.

The episode was shot by the ABC’s New Delhi cameraman Wayne McAllister. It airs at 8pm tonight on ABC up against Christian the Lion on the Seven Network.