It’s Endangered Species Day today. We are thrilled to announce a new, free to read, illustrated book on the elusive snow leopard, listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Our Encounter with a Snow Leopard, is a real-life experience written by writer Lobzang Le, who grew up in a remote village in Ladakh. The story is brought to life by artist, Tanushree Roy Paul.

OUR ENCOUNTER WITH A SNOW LEOPARD

What happens when a girl encounters a snow leopard? On a summer day in a valley in Ladakh, Lobzang Le and her brother have taken their parents' livestock for grazing. They freeze with fear when they face a snow leopard, eyeing their goats. Read this true story by Lobzang Le who grew up in the mountains of Ladakh. Beautifully illustrated by Tanushree Roy Paul.

PARTNERSHIP WITH STORYWEAVER

The book is part of a partnership between Nature Conservation Foundation and StoryWeaver, a digital platform designed to provide children with reading resources, a gateway to thousands of richly illustrated, open-licensed children's stories in mother tongue languages. It's a first-of-its-kind platform provides easy-to-use tools to create, adapt, and translate new stories for children.

Through this partnership, we aim to bring out experiences of scientists and naturalists who are working at NCF in a range of wildlife habitats—from coral reefs and tropical rainforests to the high mountains of the Himalaya. And introduce kids to our collective natural heritage.

We will also be conducting workshops in the future training new illustrators and writers to create nature stories for children in different languages. You can contact us if you have any questions on this initiative.

READ MORE WILD STORIES

Want to read more stories in the wildlife? Check other stories from people at NCF:
In Gyalmo: the Queen of the Mountains by Ranjini Murali, two humans try to spot the most elusive cat in the world and fail, while the predator, a snow leopard named Gyalmo observes them silently.

In Birds That Sing Their Name, P Jegan, a scientist working in bird conservation, talks about birds and the beautiful songs they sing in the wild.

Spot some weaver experts in your neighbourhood with Kaveri and Shivi as they go looking for spiders in Off to See the Spiders in this riveting tale by Vena Kapoor.

Flippy the Flowerpecker visits a eucalyptus tree to find a meal but a surprise is in store for her! Find out more in the story by Garima Bhatia.

Killi and Killan the parakeets have lost their home. They set out in search of the woodpecker who can make them a tree hole nest. The birds discover many other nests, but will they find a new home? Read the story in Are You the Woodpecker? by Suhel Quader.

Follow a wise ant as she talks about carnivorous plants she has encountered in Little Green Animal Eaters by Geetha Ramaswami.

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These books are an effort by the Nature Communications team at NCF to encourage awareness and appreciation of India’s wildlife in children and adults. If you would like to learn more about India’s birds and biodiversity and become part of our community, subscribe to our free newsletter, The Flock.