About Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
- Declared State Animal of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh.
- Found across 12 range countries – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
- India is home to an estimated 500–700 snow leopards spread across the Himalayas and Trans-Himalayan region.
- Mascot of Khelo India Winter Games 2024: named Sheen-e She (Shan) in Ladakh.
Key Characteristics
- Medium-sized cat
- Vocalisation: Cannot roar, unlike most big cats.
- Evolutionary relation: Closer to tigers than leopards.
Key details of the Survey
- The exercise, covering 26,000 sq km across Spiti Valley, Kinnaur, Pangi, Lahaul, and Great Himalayan National Park, involved 271 camera traps.
- First official sighting of Pallas’s Cat in Kinnaur and rediscovery of Woolly Flying Squirrel in Lahaul also reported.
- For the first time globally, indigenous women from Kibber contributed to data analysis, highlighting inclusive community participation in conservation.
- Himachal Pradesh is the first state in India to complete a population estimation of snow leopards, setting a cost-effective, scalable model for monitoring.
