SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir is home to about twenty snow-leopards while Ladakh has the highest number at 477, in the snow-covered mountains of Kishtwar in Jammu region adjoining parts of Ladakh region.
The number snow leopards was estimated to be around twenty by the wildlife protect officials in the high mountains of Kishtwar. This area could be rich in this elusive animal because of its proximity to Ladakh region where Meru and Khangri National Park is host to a good number of snow leopards.
The number of the snow leopards in Kishtwar has been estimated on the basis of the captures by the motion detection cameras installed by the wildlife protection officials in high-altitude areas of Kishtwar. The first pictures were released by the wildlife department in November and December.
All the motion detection cameras were installed in some strategic areas of Kishtwar in order to ascertain the presence of snow leopards in high-altitude areas.
The cameras have been retrieved in November and December 2023 after they were reported to have captured movement of snow leopards. The captured of movements of the snow-leopards were announced by the wildlife protection department officials.
Apart from the cameras, some sightings by some local residents were also reported to the wildlife protection officials in both November and December.
The sightings were reported to be possible due to dry spell when the endangered animals come down from the slopes in search of prey, which move down in search of fodder.
Some residents of Kishtwar expressed their happiness over increase in the number of snow leopards in the upper reaches of their district and posted the photos of the shy animals on their handles on social media.
Some of the photos were shared by wildlife officials belonging to other states of India also shared the pictures of the majestic animal on social media handles.
A wildlife enthusiast, Saurabh Desai also shared some of the photos of the snow-leopards on his social media platform through his handle of presence of snow-leopards in Lahaul and Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, which is in the neighbourhood of both Kishtwar district and Ladakh region.
He also posted some pictures of snow-leopard cubs on his social media platform on Sunday. These photos also appeared to be captured by the motion detection cameras in Spiti Valley.
Sightings of the snow-leopard have also been reported from the high-altitude mountains of Gilgit Baltistan in Pakistan. Capture of the pictures was done through camera traps by some wildlife enthusiasts and wildlife department besides National Geograpgic.
The National Geographic reported first camera trap pictures more than a decade back in Gilgit-Baltistan and adjoining areas bordering Afghanistan after strenuous efforts of the wildlife photographers. They were not able to capture the shy and endangered animal for many years.
A local news gathering agency KNO quoting officials on Tuesday said that Jammu and Kashmir is home to nine snow-leopards while Ladakh has highest number of 477.
They said that the snow leopard, an endangered species, has been estimated to have nine in J&K, while Ladakh holds the highest count in India at 477.
Experts told the news agency that these figures are satisfactory, but there are still many more areas to be covered. How the number has been ascertained could not be explained because of different assessment by separate experts and wildlife protection department.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav released India’s first-ever Snow Leopard Population Assessment report, revealing a total of 718 snow leopards in the country.
The Wildlife Institute of India, in collaboration with Nature Conservation Foundation and WWF-India, conducted the assessment covering 70% of the potential snow leopard range.
Ladakh leads with 477, followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and J&K (9).
Talking to KNO, Munib Khanyari, who was part of the assessment team, said, “This is a first-of-its-kind estimation. I feel very privileged to be part of this estimation. It’s a new binary estimation of snow leopards in mountains and ecosystems in India. It’s something we are very proud of,” he said.
The figures for J&K and Ladakh are satisfactory in the sense that they reflect the efforts made.
“Especially in J&K, we have many other areas to cover, especially right after the previous report was released. There are additional areas for snow leopards, so I think there is an opportunity for the numbers to improve, and for us to know. The concerned department is working really hard to enhance conservation efforts in both J&K and Ladakh to protect the animals.”
Khanyari said the department is conducting extensive training for locals to become rangers and is increasing the number of daily wagers.
“Many more are engaging with researchers. The department has to continue supporting the researchers as they have been doing so that they can continue their work smoothly,” he said.
“Different people, including communities, wildlife department and policymakers, have to collaborate for a more inclusive form of conservation. There is more to be done through collaboration.”
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