Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Park in Xining, the administrative centre of China's Qinghai Province, plays a role beyond providing a visitor attraction. The facility serves as a centre for wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, scientific breeding and environmental education, with a particular focus on high-altitude animals. One of its key programmes aims to protect the snow leopard, a rare predator classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The institution is known by several names, including Xining Wildlife Park and the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Centre. Xining is located on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The centre's main responsibilities include rescuing wild animals, providing veterinary rehabilitation, conducting research into captive breeding, protecting species and promoting environmental awareness.
According to China Global Television Network (CGTN), the centre has rescued more than 2,700 wild animals representing over 60 species since 2010. Approximately one-third of them underwent rehabilitation and were returned to the wild.
The rescued animals include snow leopards, Przewalski's gazelles, black-necked cranes, Chinese mountain cats, Eurasian lynxes and black storks. The centre's work combines systematic rescue operations with individual scientific monitoring, veterinary treatment, rehabilitation and assessments of whether animals are ready to return to their natural habitats.
The snow leopard, or Panthera uncia, is an apex predator of the high mountains of Central and South Asia. It typically inhabits elevations of around 3,000 to 5,000 metres and is adapted to severe cold, tolerating temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. It is often called the king of the snow mountains.
The IUCN classifies the species as Vulnerable and estimates that its overall population is declining. An estimated 4,000 to 6,500 snow leopards remain worldwide, distributed across 12 countries.
According to China's Xinhua News Agency, authorities in Qinghai monitor approximately 1,200 snow leopards, making the province one of the species' most important strongholds. In China, the snow leopard is listed as a nationally protected Class I species.
Habitat loss and degradation pose major threats to snow leopards. These pressures are associated with climate change, infrastructure development, livestock grazing and other human activities. Poaching and illegal trade in skins, bones and other animal parts also remain concerns.
Declining populations of wild ungulates, including blue sheep, ibex and argali, create additional challenges by reducing the predators' natural food supply. When prey becomes scarce, snow leopards may attack livestock, intensifying conflict between local communities and wildlife. Herders sometimes kill the predators in retaliation for livestock losses. Disease transmission between domestic, stray, captive and wild animals presents another risk.
The history of snow leopard breeding at the Xining facility illustrates the difficulties of captive conservation. The park first achieved artificial breeding of snow leopards in 1984–1985. However, no successful breeding followed between 1986 and 2011, and cubs born between 2012 and 2015 did not survive.
In 2012, the park established a team of 11 specialists, including veterinarians and animal-care technicians. They worked on pairing animals, monitoring pregnancies and ensuring the safe delivery of cubs.
A breakthrough came on 10 June 2016, when a female snow leopard named Ao Xue was born. According to China.org.cn, she was the first snow leopard at the facility to be successfully born through artificial insemination. Her parents were a male named Zhuangzhuang and a female named Erbao.
The centre's scientific work also extends beyond breeding. A published case study documented feline herpesvirus infection among snow leopards housed in close proximity at the zoo. The findings highlighted the importance of veterinary monitoring, vaccination and measures to control the spread of disease in zoos and wildlife rescue facilities.
In 2021, the park was designated a long-term scientific research base for snow leopard breeding on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. According to the source, it is the only facility of its kind in China. Figures for 2025–2026 indicate that the park houses approximately 11 to 15 snow leopards, making its captive population one of the largest in the country.
The centre has rescued more than a dozen snow leopards in total, and some have been returned to the wild.
The park's work forms part of a broader wildlife conservation system in Qinghai. The province is developing a network of protected areas and monitoring programmes centred on national parks, including Sanjiangyuan National Park and the Qinghai section of the planned Qilian Mountains National Park.
According to People's Daily, these areas together provide approximately 200,000 square kilometres of protected habitat for snow leopards and other wildlife.
Conservation efforts combine technology with community participation. Satellite tracking, infrared camera traps, drones and mobile applications for patrols are used to monitor wildlife and protected areas. Thousands of local herders work as certified ecological inspectors.
According to Chinese data, 138 nature reserves covering a combined area of 766,000 square kilometres operate within the country's snow leopard range.
Although captive breeding and rehabilitation cannot replace the protection of natural ecosystems, they can contribute to conservation by building genetic and veterinary knowledge, rescuing individual animals, educating the public and strengthening the scientific basis for restoring wild populations.
Protecting the snow leopard's prey is equally important. Maintaining healthy populations of blue sheep and other wild ungulates remains one of the key conditions for the species' long-term survival.
