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Stanford Study Reveals Snow Leopards' Genetic Vulnerability

10/8/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A Stanford-led study finds snow leopards have low genetic diversity, with fewer than 8,000 individuals across 12 Asian countries, including Russia and Nepal.
Unlike other big cats, snow leopards show a stable, small population without recent bottlenecks.
Climate change threatens their alpine habitat and prey; researchers developed a non-invasive fecal DNA test to monitor populations.

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Story summary

A Stanford-led study finds snow leopards have low genetic diversity, with fewer than 8,000 individuals across 12 Asian countries, including Russia and Nepal.
Unlike other big cats, snow leopards show a stable, small population without recent bottlenecks.
Climate change threatens their alpine habitat and prey; researchers developed a non-invasive fecal DNA test to monitor populations.