The Greater and Trans Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have great potential in terms of wildlife (flora and fauna). This survey was the first ever survey for the snow leopard in Uttarakhand and some of the areas of Himachal Pradesh till date. It confirms the presence of snow leopard in
Bringing cheer to conservationists and animal lovers, a census has found four to five highly endangered snow leopards on Kibber plateau in Himachal's Lahaul Spiti district.
Chandertal (Lahaul-Spiti): Eco-tourism is slowing spelling doom for the Chandertal lake high-altitude wildlife sanctuary, the last remaining natural habitat for the rare snow leopard.
This lake, an international wetland, attracts nature lovers, Gaddi shepherds and pilgrims every summer.
Due to the threats and the declining population trends the species has been listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) of India and is listed as endangered inthe 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The present studbook of snow leopard has been compiled for the India region and the data used is current till June 30th 2009. The data has been provided by four zoos.
Even though the estimated population of the snow leopard in Himachal is barely 15, encouraged by spotting of the animal by locals as well as wildlife staff in Spiti the government has sent a Rs 1.50 crore action plan to the Centre for protecting the highly endangered animal.
At least one snow leopard has been killed by poachers every year since the enactment in 1995 of the forest, nature and conservation Act, which prohibits the killing of endangered wild animals in the country.
The object of this study was investigation of the trade in skins of Leopards and Snow Leopards. Over a period of four years-2004 to 2007-surveys were conducted at the bazaars of some of the country's major cities to investigate the sale of furs of spotted wild cats, in particular Leopards and Snow Leopards.
Beijing: A group of angry farmers trapped a rare snow leopard in a cave on the Chinese side of Mount Everest after it killed a cow. The big cat was spotted near Cangmujian village in Tingri, a southern Tibet county located along Mount Qomolangma, the Chinese name for Everest.
Destruction of habitat, poaching and retaliatory killings by shepherds have pushed the survival of the snow leopard tothe brink. But with the launching of Project Snow Leopard, there is hope.
Thick grey coloured fur that is marked with rosettes and broken spot markings keeps itwarm and helps it blendeasily with the vastmountain-scape
