Environment

Himachal Pradesh’s rough piece of land may beharbouring as amany as 73 snow leopards per recent study on the animal.

·        The big cat (also referred to as Ghost of the mountains) acts as AN indicator of the health of the mountain system during which they live, thanks to their position because the high predator within the food web.

·         The big cat lives at high altitudes within the steep mountains of Central andSouthern Asia, and in an especially cold climate.

·         They inhabit the upper mountain range and trans-Himalayan landscape within the states/union territories of Jammu and kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

·         India could be a distinctive country to possess a decent presence of five massive cats, together with SnowLeopard.

·         The different four ar, Lion, Tiger, Common Leopard, and Clouded Leopard.Snow Leopard capital of the world: Hemis, Ladakh.

·         Hemis parkland is that the biggest parkland of India and additionally includes a smart presence of big cat.

·         Threat: Factors that have contributed to the decline within the big cat populations embrace, reduction in prey populations, smuggled cooking and multiplied human population infiltration into the species surroundings and smuggled trade of life components and product among others.

Protection:                             

·        IUCN Red List- Vulnerable

·        Convention on International trade species (CITES)- Appendix I Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)- Appendix I

·         Appendix I includes species vulnerable with extinction.

·         Indian life (Protection) Act 1972- Schedule I

·         Schedule I provides absolute protection and offences below this have the very best penalties.

Conservation Efforts Launched by India:

·        Himal Sanrakshak: its a community volunteer programme, to safeguard snow leopards, launched on twenty third October 2020.

·         In 2019, 1st National Protocol was additionally launched on big cat Population Assessment that has been terribly helpful for observance populations.

·         SECURE Himalaya: world atmosphere Facility (GEF)-United Nations

·        Development Programme (UNDP) funded the project on conservation of high altitude diversity and reducing the dependency of native communities on the natural system.

·         This project is currently operational in four big cat vary states, namely, Jammu and Cashmere, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim.

·         Project snow leopard (PSL) : it was launched in 2009 to market an comprehensive and democratic approach to conserve snow leopards and their surroundings.

·        Snow Leopard is within the list of twenty one critically species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of atmosphere Forest & temperature change.

·         Snow Leopard conservation breeding programme is undertaken at Padmaja Naidu himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling, and province.