“My passion for snow leopard conservation began when at the age of 14, I joined the Snow Leopard Conservancy’s (SLC) Junior Ranger Program and later the youth-oriented Eco-club organized by WWF Nepal. I’d grown up in Dolpo in north western Nepal where most people are yak herders and subsistence farmers. I’d seen local herders harming snow leopard cubs because the cats had killed their valuable livestock. It was so sad to see the suffering of both the local people and the snow leopards. I was despondent and wanted to make a difference.” – Tshiring Lhamu Lama