India home to 718 snow leopards

India has an estimated 718 snow leopards with Ladakh reporting the maximum number (477) of these elusive cats, the Union environment ministry said.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) carried out the first-ever ‘Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India’ (SPAI) with the support of all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners — the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru, and WWF-India — between 2019 and 2023.

The report on the status of snow leopards in India was released by the Union Minister Bhupender Yadav during the National Board for Wildlife meeting held in Delhi on January 30.

Snow leopards

• The snow leopard (Pantherea uncia) is a large carnivore found in the high mountains of Central and Southern Asia.

• Often referred to as an elusive and secretive species, the snow leopard was listed as “Endangered” in 1972 until 2017 when it was reassessed as “Vulnerable” under the IUCN Red List. This change in status was based on a lack of data. Despite the reassessment the population is still listed as in decline.

• The snow leopard is protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) against over-exploitation through international trade and listed in Appendix I (the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants).

• They have spotted white-greyish fur that keeps them well insulated in cold weather.

• The snow leopard is at the apex of the food pyramid in the Himalaya, helping in the maintenance of the balance of nature. It is therefore regarded as an “Umbrella Species”.

• They are inhabiting rugged and extreme environments in the trans-Himalayan, central Asian highlands to the cold deserts of Mongolia. 

• Their prey base includes medium-sized ungulates, rodents and birds depending on local availability. 

• The vast expanse of the Himalaya, extending over approximately 2,500 km, forms a formidable arc along the northern and northeastern boundary of India. This area surveyed for the snow leopard population estimation traverses for Indian states — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.

• The snow leopard range in India remained undefined until recent years due to a lack of extensive nationwide assessments for this vulnerable species.

• Before 2016, approximately one-third of the range (around 1,00,347 sq km) received minimal research attention.

• Recent status surveys have significantly increased understanding, providing preliminary information for 80 per cent of the range (about 79,745 sq km), compared to 56 per cent in 2016.

Key points of the survey:

• The exercise systematically covered over 70 per cent of the potential snow leopard range in the country, involving forest and wildlife staff, researchers, volunteers, and contributions from knowledge partners.

• The SPAI used a two-step framework and covered approximately 1,20,000 sq km of crucial snow leopard habitat across the trans-Himalayan region, including Union territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, and states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

• The first step involved evaluating snow leopard spatial distribution, incorporating habitat covariates into the analysis, and aligning with the guidelines of the national population assessment of snow leopards in India by the environment ministry in 2019.

• This systematic approach included assessing the spatial distribution through an occupancy-based sampling approach in the potential distribution range.

• In the second step, snow leopard abundance was estimated using camera traps in each identified stratified region.

• During the SPAI exercise, total efforts included 13,450 km of trails surveyed for recording snow leopard signs and camera traps at 1,971 locations for 180,000 trap nights.

• Snow leopard occupancy was recorded in 93,392 sq km, with an estimated presence in 1,00,841 sq km.

• A total of 241 unique snow leopards were photographed. 

• Based on data analysis, Ladakh has an estimated 477 snow leopards, Uttarakhand 124, Himachal Pradesh 51, Arunachal Pradesh 36, Sikkim 21, and Jammu & Kashmir 9.

Conservation efforts

• India has made significant steps for conservation of snow leopards. 

• With 34 per cent of the habitat under legal protection and over 35,000 sq km designated for landscape-level conservation, there is a strong foundation in place. 

• India has moved towards participatory, landscape-based conservation projects after realising the limitations of exclusive protected areas and capacity restrictions. This shift is critical since about 70 per cent of the land used by snow leopards is still unprotected and provides critical habitat for wildlife. 

• Initiatives like Project Snow Leopard and Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Programme have been instrumental in this shift, collectively covering close to half of India’s snow leopard range. 

• This represents a noteworthy transition from the exclusive focus on protected areas to collaborative landscape management over the past decade.

• Establishing a dedicated Snow Leopard Cell at Wildlife Institute of India (WII) under the ministry is proposed, with a primary focus on long-term population monitoring, supported by well-structured study designs and consistent field surveys.

• Consistent monitoring is essential to ensuring snow leopards’ long-term survival. For the same, states and UTs can consider adopting a periodic population estimation approach (every fourth year) in the snow leopard range.

• These regular assessments will offer valuable insights for identifying challenges, addressing threats, and formulating effective conservation strategies.

• Landscape-level management planning and coordination are essential for effective implementation and management. In order to identify biologically significant landscapes, a landscape-level strategy is required. The continuous creation of scientifically informed, collaborative and landscape-based management plans is an essential component for the conservation efforts.