Snow Leopard : New Data
Himachal Pradesh has recorded 83 snow leopards (up from 51 in 2021) as per the latest survey by the Wildlife Wing of the State Forest Department in collaboration with the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF).
Key details of the Survey:
- The exercise, covering 26,000 sq km across Spiti Valley, Kinnaur, Pangi, Lahaul, and Great Himalayan National Park, involved 271 camera traps.
- First official sighting of Pallas’s Cat in Kinnaur and rediscovery of Woolly Flying Squirrel in Lahaul also reported.
- For the first time globally, indigenous women from Kibber contributed to data analysis, highlighting inclusive community participation in conservation.
- Himachal Pradesh is the first state in India to complete a population estimation of snow leopards, setting a cost-effective, scalable model for monitoring.
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia):
- Declared State Animal of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
- Found across 12 range countries – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
- India is home to an estimated 500–700 snow leopards spread across the Himalayas and Trans-Himalayan region.
- Mascot of Khelo India Winter Games 2024: named Sheen-e She (Shan) in Ladakh.
