SNOW LEOPARD

 

Scientific Name: Panthera unica. Snow leopards act as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem in which they live, due to their position as the top predator in the food web.

Habitat

• Mountainous regions of central and southern Asia.
• In India their geographical range encompasses;

1. Western Himalayas; Jammu and Kashmir , Himachal Pradesh
2. Eastern Himalayas; Uttarakhand ,Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Snow Leopard capital of the world; Hemis Ladakh.
• Hemis National park is the biggest park in India and has a good presence of snow leopard.

Protection status

• The snow leopard is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN-World Conservation Unions's Red List of the threatened species.
• In addition it is also listed in Appendix Ⅰ of the Conservation on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
• Making trading of animal body parts ( that is fur, bones and meat) illegal in signatory countries.
• It is listed in schedule one of the Indian Wildlife (protection) Act 1972.
• It is also listed in the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)., affording the highest conservation status to the species, both globally and in India.
• It is also protected by several national laws in its range countries.

Conservation Efforts By India

• The Government of India has identified the snow leopard as a flagship species for high altitude Himalays.
• India is also party to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) programme since 2013.
• Himal Sanrakshak; It is a volunteer programme, to protect snow leopards , launched in october 2020.
• In 2019 First National Protocol was also launched on snow leopard population Assessment which has been very useful for monitoring populations .
• SECURE Himalaya ; Global Environment Facility (GEF) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded the project on conservation of high altitude biodiversity and reducing the dependency of local communities on the natural ecosystem.
• Project Snow Leopard (PSL); It was launched in 2009 to promote an inclusive and participatory approach to conserve snow leopards and their habitat.
• Snow Leopard is on the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.
• Snow Leopard Conservation breeding programme is undertaken at Padmaja  Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park , Darjeeling , West Bengal.