Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), 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, Delhi.
- The exercise reported 718 snow leopards in India
- It was conducted from 2019 to 2023.
Aim of the Report
i.The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program is a first-ever scientific exercise that reported the population of snow leopards.
- The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is the National Coordinator for this exercise that was carried out with the help of all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners- the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru (Karnataka), and WWF (World Wildlife Fund)-India.
ii.The report mentions the need for establishing a dedicated Snow Leopard Cell at WII under MoEFCC with a primary focus on long-term population monitoring, supported by well-structured study designs and consistent field surveys.
- For the same, states and Union Territories (UTs) can consider adopting a periodic population estimation approach (every 4th year) in the Snow leopard range.
Key Points
i.The SPAI covered over 70% of the snow leopard range in India, approximately 120,000 km².
- Including UTs of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir (J & K), and states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh
ii.The exercise was conducted using a two-step framework. Firstly, the Snow leopard spatial (geographical) distribution was evaluated through an occupancy-based sampling approach in the potential distribution range (habitat of snow leopards).
- Snow leopard signs were recorded by surveying 13,450 km of trails, and camera traps were deployed at 1,971 locations for 180,000 trap nights. A total of 241 unique Snow leopards were photographed.
- The Snow leopard occupancy was recorded in 93,392 km², with an estimated presence in 100,841 km².
iii.Secondly, snow leopard abundance was estimated using camera traps in each identified stratified region (regions with homogenous characteristics).
- Based on data analysis, the estimated population of 718 snow leopards in different states/UTs are as follows:
- Ladakh (477), Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and J & K (9).
iv.Before 2016, approximately one-third (around ca. 100,347 km2) of the range received minimal research attention, which was just 5% in areas like Ladakh, J & K, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.
- Recent status surveys have significantly increased understanding, providing preliminary information for 80% of the range (about 79,745 km2), compared to 56% in 2016.
Note: Occupancy modelling is based on making multiple visits to some or all of the sample sites in a study to collect species detection data which are used to model, and then adjust for, the detection process.
About MoEFCC
Union Minister – Bhupender Yadav (Rajya Sabha constituency -Rajasthan )
Minister of State (MoS) – Ashwini Kumar Choubey (constituency – Buxar, Bihar )
