Wildlife Deptt to assess snow leopard population in Kashmir

Survey to be carried out in Gurez, Sonamarg

By: Ibni Maqbool

Srinagar: The department of Wildlife Protection is carrying out an assessment of snow leopard population in their potential landscapes in Kashmir Valley.

Documents in possession of The Precious Kashmir reveal that the Department of Wildlife Protection, is implementing the snow leopard population assessment programme in their potential landscapes of Kashmir in joint collaboration with SKUAST- Kashmir and Nature Conservation Fund (NCF) Mysore.

The assessment would be carried out in Gurez and Sonamarg where snow leopards have been spotted in the recent times.

A study conducted by the Mountain Wildlife Division of SKAUST- Kashmir has confirmed the presence of snow leopards in Gurez and Sonamarg.

To begin with, the department is engaging project associates, who will be stationed at Tulail( Gurez) and Thajwas- Baltal( Sonamarg), for survey and monitoring of snow leopard population in their potential landscapes upto ending March 2022.

The project is being funded under the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) programme, launched by the Government of India in 2019.

It was launched on October 23, 2019, to assess the population of snow leopards in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Usually found in Ladakh, the snow leopard has been listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list. It has also been listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

After reorganization of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh adopted snow leopard as its state animal.

Experts believe that the high-altitude cold desert of Ladakh is home to 50 percent of the snow leopard population of India.

Out of 7,500 snow leopards left in the world, 500 are believed to be in India.

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