Helen Elaine Freeman (March 10, 1932 – September 20, 2007) was an American conservationist and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

advocate, who specialized in saving snow leopards. She was best known for founding the Snow Leopard Trust. Her preservation work earned her the nickname, the "' Jane Goodall' of Snow Leopards."

Early life

She was born Helen Maniotas in Everett, Washington, on March 10, 1932. She was the only child of Greek immigrants. Freeman graduated with a bachelor's degree in

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from Washington State University in 1954. She later obtained a second degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Washington in 1973. She met her husband, Stanley Freeman, through mutual friends at the United States Coast Guard. The couple were married for 49 years.

Snow leopards

Freeman's interest in Snow Leopards began while she was a volunteer

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at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. The zoo acquired two Snow Leopards, named Nicholas and Alexandra, from the Soviet Union in 1972. Freeman eventually became the curator of education at the Woodland Park Zoo. She held that position when she founded the Snow Leopard Trust in 1981. The original purpose of the trust was to help zoos keep Snow Leopards, which are endangered in their home ranges in Central Asia, more successfully. She often traveled to Asia, Europe and

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, to raise awareness of the species's endangered status. She was the first female chair of the

Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

, a breeding program designed to help increase the numbers of Snow Leopards in

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

; the species is notoriously difficult to breed in zoos. Freeman's Snow Leopard Trust began pioneering plans to help people living in areas inhabited by Snow Leopards to improve their

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in order to better protect both the leopards and their habitat. She remained the executive director of the Snow Leopard Trust until 1996 when she took a position on the Trust's

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. A snow leopard, who lives in Woodland Park Zoo was named after her.

Death

Freeman died of lung disease in Bellevue, Washington, on September 20, 2007, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Snow Leopard TrustObituary, ''The Independent'', 6 October 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Helen 1932 births 2007 deaths People from Everett, Washington Washington State University alumni University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni American conservationists American people of Greek descent Deaths from lung disease

Early life

Snow leopards

Death

See also

References

External links