In a first, Ladakh to count snow leopards
Jammu and Kashmir forest officials will begin an estimation of the number of snow leopards in Ladakh in April.
This would be first-ever estimation of the high-altitude big cat in the country.
The estimation, following protocols of All India Tiger Estimation, will be done in Hemis National Park and Kargil area of Ladakh. It will be conducted by the state forest department in association with the ministry of environment, forest and climate (MoEFC), with technical support from Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII). Till date, the population of the species has only been estimated in the absence of a proper census.
As per WII, there are about 750 snow leopards in potential states of J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. Uttarakhand conducted a survey in 2015 in the trans-Himalayan region and could get 39 shreds of evidence of the species. Still, no actual figures of the spotted cat could be established. “It is for the first time that snow leopard estimation will be done anywhere in the country.
We will work on the model of All India Tiger Estimation and are hopeful to start the process by April,” Pankaj Raina, wildlife warden, Hemis, said.
According to the plan, the intensive study area will cover around 80,808 sq km area comprising the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, which includes western Tibetan Himalayas, Zansar (south of the Indus) and Nubra region.