The wild side of the Web

Saving snow leopards on the net

Snow leopards have great leaping ability for hunting prey and coloring that camouflages them on the rocky slopes of their habitat.

(CNN) -- High in the mountains of Mongolia, the endangered snow leopard was once hunted for its precious fur and because it preyed on livestock.

With an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild, the International Snow Leopard Trust has taken its effort to protect this species to cyberspace -- at snowleopard.org.

Herders use the site to sell goods made from the wool of their sheep and camels. Conservation director Tom McCarthy says that helps protect the snow leopard.

"Every herder family who wants to participate signs a contract that agrees that in exchange for access to the markets they promise not to kill snow leopards or their food sources such as the wild ibex (goat) and bharal (blue sheep)."

The trust provides training and equipment for villagers in Mongolia to make hand-made products.

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"You can buy everything from hats and gloves made out of camel wool, sheep felted mats, new products such as tea cozies to felt juggling balls... so it brings a lot of money into the local communities and gives people money to send their kids to school" says McCarthy.

The site also has details about the snow leopard -- their physical features, habitats, and why they are threatened.

Of course, the trust invites readers to join the group, and you can even adopt a snow leopard for a donation of $75. In return, you receive your own stuffed snow leopard toy.

More than 200 households in Mongolia sell their wares on the site, but McCarthy says the trust hopes to expand. "We'll be starting the program in Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and India -- so we're going to have a lot of types of handicrafts for these people to sell the following year."

For now, the Mongolian people are helping themselves, while helping make sure snow leopards survive and thrive.