Snow Leopard Population Assessment Of India

Snow leopards are lovely cats with their spotted coats and huge and fluffy tails, but they are also powerful and ferocious predators capable of chasing and killing a variety of prey species in challenging alpine terrain. They’re known as “ghosts of the highlands” because of their solitary and elusive nature. 

Although there are between 2,500 and 10,000 adult snow leopards left in the wild, the species continues to suffer serious risks to its existence. Let’s study where they live, what they eat, and how the species is endangered, as well as conservation initiatives to help them.

Snow Leopard: 

The snow leopard, once known as Leo uncia, has been reclassified as Panthera, along with the lion, tiger, and other large cats. The snow leopard has been classed as the sole member of the genus Uncia by certain authorities due to the existence of specific skeletal traits, such as a shorter skull and more-rounded eye orbits than other big cats. 

Snow leopards are members of the Panthera genus, which includes the lion, tiger, jaguar, and leopard. Unlike these four species, they are unable to roar. Its dense fur is white on the belly, grey on the head, and speckled with black rosettes. The cat’s huge paws are also covered with thick fur, which helps it grip slick surfaces and reduce heat loss.

Habitat and Distribution of snow leopard: 

Snow leopards reside at high altitudes in Central Asia’s hilly regions. Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and Tibet are among the countries involved. Snow leopards reside above the tree line from 2,700 to 6,000 meters in the summer but descend to forests between 1,200 and 2,000 meters in the winter. They are adapted to navigate rugged terrain and snow, but if paths left by people or animals are available, they will follow them.

Distribution in Himalayan Regions: 

Snow leopards can be found in central and southern Asia’s hilly regions. Their geographical range in India includes the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim in the western Himalayas, as well as Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas. The Eastern Himalayas, a priority global region for WWF and the Living Himalayas Network Initiative, includes the latest three states.

Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards (PAWS): 

The Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP), a high-level Inter-governmental alliance of all 12 snow leopard range countries, has ratified India’s participation and played an essential role. These governments have joined forces to perform a PAWS (Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards) survey.

Recognizing the importance of knowing the whereabouts and status of snow leopards for conservation planning, the Indian government has launched the ‘Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), which is expected to result in scientifically sound national and state-level population estimates of this endangered and elusive cat across its high-altitude habitat, both inside and outside protected areas.

Observations of Population Assessment: 

A three-year snow leopard population survey in Himachal Pradesh, India, has resulted in the first-ever scientifically sound estimate of snow leopards. This survey is part of a larger global study on snow leopards.

• The initiative involved all 12 countries that are home to snow leopards.
• An intensive camera trapping effort across the three-year survey captured 44 individual snow leopards, resulting in an estimate of 51 snow leopards with a density of 0.08 to 0.37 individuals per 100 square kilometers.
• This puts the state’s official population estimate at 51 people with statistical confidence limits ranging from 34 to 73 individuals.
• The field teams conducted population surveys of wild ungulate prey of snow leopards in all ten sites resulting in their low-density population.

Status: 

In 2017, The IUCN-World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species classifies the snow leopard as ‘Vulnerable’. Furthermore, the snow leopard, like all big cats, is included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prohibits the trade of animal body parts (such as fur, bones, and meat) in signatory nations.

How are they threatened? 

Snow leopards are threatened by hunting, habitat degradation, and retaliatory deaths as a result of human-wildlife conflict, poaching, and climate change. The habitat range of the snow leopard is shrinking as a result of human settlement and increased grazing land utilization. One of the most severe threats to snow leopards is climate change. Climate change could result in the extinction of up to 30% of snow leopard habitat in the Himalayas alone.

First conservation center for Snow leopard in India:  

The Uttarakhand Forest Department and the United Nations Development Programme will collaborate to build the first conservation center in order to maintain and restore Himalayan ecosystems, as well as to protect rare snow leopards and other Himalayan animals.

Conclusion: 

As we know, there are just about 4,080-6590 wild snow leopards left. Poaching, habitat destruction, and retaliatory killings as a result of livestock losses are all threats to their survival. The successful three-year study’s methodology will be used to survey additional states in India containing snow leopards, and once published in a peer-reviewed international journal, it will be shared with other snow leopard countries to promote the PAWS project.