INDIA PLANS FIRST-EVER SNOW LEOPARD SURVEY

About: 

• It is a member of the genus ‘Panthera’ to which tiger, leopard and lion also belong. Its Scientific name is “Panthera uncia”.
  
  
• Range:
  • They inhabit alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m (9,800 to 14,800 ft). It is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.
    
    
  • The 12 range countries are Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
    
    
  • India is home to 10% of the global population in less than 5% of its global range.
    
    
  
  
  
• Conservation status:
  • In 2017, status of Snow leopard in the Red List of the IUCN was changed from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’.
    
    
  • Listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
    
    
  • Listed in Appendix I of the CITES, which makes trading of animal body parts (i.e., fur, bones and meat) illegal in signatory countries.
    
    
  
  
  
• Project snow leopard: It was launched in 2009 in the 5 Himalayan states of Jammu & Kashmir, HP, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh to conserve India’s high altitude wildlife populations such as Snow Leopard, Asiatic Ibex, Tibetan Argali, Ladakh Urial, Chiru, Takin etc.