The country has approximately 400 to 700 snow leopards in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. 718 Snow leopards are spread over two Union Territories and four states in the Himalayan Mountain range including Ladakh (477), Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
Snow leopards are mainly found in the high mountain ecosystems. The first evidence or a record of a snow leopard was in Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary KWS of Himachal Pradesh. As per studies, merely 7,500 snow leopards globally are estimated to be surviving over two million square kilometers in the Himalayas and Central Asian mountains, and all over they are facing tremendous human pressures. According to the Hindustan Times report, the maximum number of snow leopards was reported in Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts. Its potential habitat also extends into the upper regions of the Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, and Kangra districts.
As per the data collected across 10 sites in Himachal Pradesh, viz., Upper Spiti landscape, Upper Kinnaur, Pin Valley, Taboo, Miyar-Thirot, Bhaga, Chandra, Bharmour, GHNP and Sangla-Chitkul landscapes, 51 to 73 Snow leopards were reported and the Snow leopard density ranged from 0.08 to 0.37 individuals per 100 km2 in Himachal Pradesh. However, the respective data for the Himalayan Range is not available. The other species found in the Himalayan range are the common leopard, Brown bear, Black bear, Yellow-throated marten, Stone marten, Masked palm civet, Himalayan weasel; pheasants, such as the Monal, Cheer pheasant, koklass pheasant, snow partridge, and ungulates, such as the musk deer, etc. The State animal of Himachal Pradesh ‘the Snow leopard’ can be seen very rarely. And hence, Snow leopards are also termed as the ''ghost of the mountains''. Endangered species the Snow leopards live in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. The snow leopards are one of the strikingly beautiful big cats in the world. In the IUCN-World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species, the snow leopard is listed as vulnerable. In India, the snow leopard is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, giving it the highest protection status under the country's laws.
The Government of India has identified the snow leopard as a flagship species for the high- altitude Himalayas. It has developed a centrally-supported program called Project Snow Leopard to conserve the species and habitats. In 2009 Project Snow Leopard was launched and Project Snow Leopard Committee was instituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. The Project Snow Leopard is an initiative for strengthening wildlife conservation in the Himalayan high altitudes and aims to promote a knowledge-based and adaptive conservation framework that fully involves the local communities, who share the snow leopard’s range, in conservation efforts.
Currently, the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) is being undertaken by MoEFCC, Govt of India. WWF India is working with the MoEFCC and the state forest departments of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim for this assessment.
When I asked about the present status of the Project Snow Leopard, Amitabh Gautam, PCCF-Wildlife-CWLW (Himachal Pradesh), Shimla said, “Population Estimation of snow leopard and its prey species was undertaken vide MoEF & CC, GoI Project named “Project Snow Leopard” w.e.f. January 2018 to March 2021 in the entire snow leopard habitat falling within the State of Himachal Pradesh. However, the Snow Leopard Project ended in the year 2021.” He further said that the only objective of Project Snow Leopard was the in-situ conservation of the Snow Leopard. Now a new Centrally Sponsored project named “Project Snow Leopard” for Upper Spiti Landscape including Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary stands has been submitted to GoI for approval, Gautam added.
The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India, carried out by the state's wildlife wing with help from the Mysore-based Nature Conservation Foundation by installing camera traps stated that the maximum number of snow leopards was reported in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur districts. Its potential habitat also extends into the upper regions of the Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, and Kangra districts. The researchers spotted the common leopard and the snow leopard in the same camera trap at two stations in the Great Himalayan National Park, suggesting a habitat overlap between them.
Rajinder Rajan, a writer from Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh informed me that the wildlife wing of the forest department spent five years studying the habitat of snow leopards. The trans-Himalayan regions of Spiti, Tabo, and Pin Valley recorded the highest densities of snow leopards counted 75 so far. It is found at a height of 12500 feet above sea level and has its safe hideouts in caves located in mountains covered with heavy snow. The state govt of Himachal is trying to conserve and protect this rare snow big cat. The trekking routes are planned and designed in such a way that these do not cause any hindrance to the mobility of snow leopards, he added.
Habitat destruction, invasive species, climate change and pollution are having an unprecedented impact on the snow leopard worldwide.
About Project Snow Leopard: The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, had initiated work on a flagship Snow Leopard Scheme in 1988, but it could not be launched. In 2004, the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) began a consultative process in all five Himalayan states (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh) to assess the need and scope for initiating Project Snow Leopard.
The Ministry of Environment, and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, constituted a committee to formulate Project Snow Leopard in response to the recommendations of the national workshop organized in Leh in July 2006 jointly by the MoEF and the Jammu & Kashmir Department of Wildlife Protection, in technical collaboration with the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT). This workshop, chaired by the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, brought together representatives of all five Himalayan states and scientists of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), NCF, ISLT, and several other institutions and NGOs for discussions on the need, scope, and structure for the Project Snow Leopard. Following the recommendations of this national workshop, the MoEF constituted a committee to draft a strategy and action plan for Project Snow Leopard.