| Wildlife Dept claims 100 in Kishtwar alone, Centre says only nine in whole J&K | | Snow leopards number | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 30: Within a month after the Wildlife Department claimed that the number of Snow leopards might be touching 100 in the Kishtwar district alone, the latest scientific census conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) found the total number of nine Snow leopards in the whole Union Territory of J&K.
The first-ever scientific census conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) found the total population of Snow leopards in India is 718.
Out of the total 718 Snow leopards found in India, 477 in Ladakh, 124 in Uttarakhand, 51 in Himachal Pradesh, 36 in Arunachal Pradesh, 21 in Sikkim, and nine in Jammu and Kashmir.
Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav released the report on the Status of Snow leopards in India during the National Board for Wildlife meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program is the first-ever scientific exercise that reports the Snow leopard population of 718 individuals in India.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is the national coordinator for this exercise which was carried out with support the support of all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners, the Natu The first-ever scientific census conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India found the total population of Snow leopards in India is 718.
The census stated that of the total 718 Snow leopards found in India, 477 are in Ladakh and 9 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Wildlife Deptt in J&K had claimed that number of snow leopards in Kishtwar may be touching 100.
In December 2023, the Wildlife Department claimed that as many as 20 snow leopards were captured by the cameras installed in different locations of Kishtwar National Park to conduct a first-ever ground-level comprehensive census of this endangered species.
“Although 278 cameras deployed across the 135 locations revealed the presence of approximately 20 individual snow leopards, their number may be touching 100”, the Department claimed.
The census, conducted by the Wild Life Department, has captured 20 Snow Leopards in camera traps in the Kishtwar High Altitude National Park and also in the South-Eastern Padder in the Kishtwar district. The study has yielded encouraging results, showcasing a substantial presence of snow leopards in the areas.
According to an official, covering two primary areas, Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, Marwah-Dachhan, Kishtwar, and South-eastern Paddar in Kishtwar, the survey meticulously delineated grids for observation.
“Deploying 278 camera traps across 135 locations revealed the presence of approximately 20 individual Snow Leopards, including an adult with two cubs, confirming breeding within the Kishtwar Snow Leopard population”, the official claimed. |
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