Snow Leopard numbers increase in Uttarakhand
In the high Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand, snow leopards were counted from July to November in 2021 by the Uttarakhand Forest Department and Wildlife Institute of India. These calculations were done under the Snow Leopard Population Assistance in India program run by the Ministry of Forest Environment and Climate Change, Government of India. For the calculation, the details of snow leopards were collected by installing camera traps in Govind National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Gangotri National Park, Munsiyari and Pithoragarh as well as in Trans Himalayan area located in high Himalayan regions. After a long analysis, these figures were released on Friday.
According to the data, the number of snow leopards in Uttarakhand has increased to about 121. Earlier in the 2016 census, their number was counted as 86. Then 516 snow leopards were counted all over India. Snow leopards sightings are so rare that they are also referred to as Ghost of the mountains’. They have been recorded in only 12 countries around the world. Their number has been counted between three thousand and seven thousand.
Expressing happiness over this, Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand Sameer Sinha said that it has also come to the fore in the report that the density of snow leopards is high in the high Himalayan protected areas of Uttarakhand. Sameer Sinha said that the increasing number of snow leopards is an indication that the efforts being made in the direction of snow leopard conservation in Uttarakhand are being successful. Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal has also expressed happiness over the increasing number of snow leopards. For this, he has also congratulated all the officers, employees of WWF, Forest Department, NGOs engaged in this work.
The snow leopard is a member of the cat family found in the high Himalayan regions. It is the only species in the cat family that cannot roar, but can growl. They have gray and white fur on their skin, on which there are dark spots. Their fur is very long and thick, which keeps them safe from severe winter in high cold places. Their feet are also big and woolly so that they can walk easily in the snow. Snow leopards are generally active at night. It is a solitary animal. The snow leopard is placed in the IUCN Red List.
