The beautiful leopard lives in the snow
where temps are as low as forty below
The cowardly poachers trap her at will
For them there is cash for every kill
Poor leopard will step; get caught in a vise
Her leg can't be freed, disgusting device
Do kittens depend on milk or some meat?
She has to go hunt but traps nab her feet
If mother does die, then kittens will too
I think of extinction; making me blue
Should poachers be killed to help her survive;
allowing her kind to prosper and thrive?
It's time to consider fines so severe
that profits will shrink and things become clear
Park rangers guard rhinos with rifles to kill
so poachers can't shoot; no blood will spill
Impossible here; there's way too much land
For leopard skin rugs; we must end demand
Terrain that's remote; unfriendly to man
is hard to patrol; must do what we can
Man caused this problem now he must solve
Together all men must show our resolve
I hope in the future snow leopards can roam
in areas safe that they can call home
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Author Notes
There are 600-700 snow leopards in captivity. Only as few as 3,500 to 7,000 in the wild. Hundreds are killed every year. That is the adults. It is unknown how many slain females have cubs that will die without her.
World Wildlife Foundation works to help snow leopards, elephants, lions, cheetahs and other wildlife throughout the world. A good cause for donations. Cowardly poachers set traps which snare the leopards until the poachers come along and kill them.
I mentioned rhinos because park rangers with rifles in Africa actually follow the rhinos around in order to save the last few remaining rhinos in the wild. They are willing to kill poachers. Asian rhinos are even more endangered than those in Africa. The javan and Sumatran rhinos are down to as little as 100 individuals and as many as 300. I would like to see rangers with rifles protect the snow leopard. But the terrain is so rough. What is the solution?
Thank you for reading my poem.
In the painting a snow leopard sits among foliage with its beating heart showing. Hopefully there will always be some beating snow leopard hearts in the wild.
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