They are called guardians of the mountains; now we have a number for them. In a first-of-its-kind effort, India has estimated snow leopard numbers from the Eastern and Western Himalayas. The numbers, gleaned from animal signs and camera trap images, are encouraging – we have around 781 individuals found across four states and two Union Territories. Educated guesses made earlier assumed we have upwards of 400 snow leopards in India.
Snow leopards are mysterious apex predators of high mountain ecosystems. They are large cats with masterful camouflage that blends into the sparse high mountain and trans-Himalayan landscape they belong to. Understanding snow leopard numbers, density, and distribution is thus attempting to fathom the status of the inaccessible places they live in and the wildlife they share these places with. The snow leopard estimation is the result of walking 13,450 square kilometres of trails and 1,80,000 camera trap nights. It was found that there are 477 snow leopards in Ladakh, 124 in Uttarakhand, 51 in Himachal Pradesh and nine in Jammu and Kashmir. It is well known that there are many snow leopards in Ladakh – watching them is an eco-tourism attraction. But it’s the eastern Himalayas that throw up a surprise. Both Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have sizeable numbers of snow leopards: 36 and 21, respectively.
The particularly rugged terrain of Arunachal Pradesh posed significant challenges for conducting snow leopard studies. Here, the survey was possible only because of the dedication of local community volunteers, forest department staff and WWF-India’s field biologists. Almost 700,000 camera trap pictures were taken between June and December 2021. Difficulties posed by the landscape are also a reason why we have had nationwide estimates of other iconic mammals like tigers and elephants, but not for snow leopards until now.
Establishing baselines of snow leopard population density equips us with the knowledge to monitor and respond to shifts in snow leopard numbers. Crucially, it can also help pinpoint areas where snow leopards face the greatest threats, such as regions with elevated poaching rates or habitat degradation. In many ways, snow leopards present completely different challenges when compared to other big cats. They live in areas that are difficult, almost impossible, to access, lined by cliffs, gorges, avalanches and low oxygen conditions. This area is also struck by the climate crisis, with extreme weather events increasing. As mountain areas warm, the tree line has been observed going up the mountain. Yet, an animal’s ability to go up the slope is limited. For instance, snow leopards cannot possibly exist above 5,500 metres – these areas effectively don’t have much wildlife or prey animals. Another unique aspect is that nearly 70% of snow leopards are outside protected areas.
What, then, is the future of the snow leopard? It is clear that the future lies in community stewardship. For this, we need to further understand the social drivers of snow leopard conservation. And while we may not know the full impacts of the climate crisis on the area yet, we do know one thing. Communities need help with climate adaptation and livelihood strategies — and we must work to strengthen their resilience and livelihood options. Unlike the protected area approach we have taken for tigers, snow leopard persistence will need a different conservation paradigm — a bottom-up approach for rangeland management and conservation, which may not necessarily involve protected areas. This underscores the importance of forging strong partnerships with local communities and recognising their vital role as land stewards. We can foster mutual understanding through collaborative efforts, paving the way for innovative coexistence strategies that benefit humans and wildlife.
Ecologically, the next step is to see what is driving snow leopard densities. On the face of it, it seems wild prey availability is the primary determinant, but there is also an interplay of factors, like topography and terrain, which need to be understood. This estimation shows us valuable steps forward.
Now that we have a sense of numbers, we need to better understand and tackle threats. Poorly planned infrastructure and the presence of free-ranging dogs are pervasive threats throughout the snow leopard range. Other threats vary across regions. For instance, in the Eastern Himalayas, snaring and unintentional killings pose the primary threat in Arunachal Pradesh, while poaching of wild ungulates is a concern in Sikkim. In the West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal, retaliatory killing is the primary threat — the snow leopards are targeted when they kill livestock. Another aspect is that other wildlife is also responding to warming conditions. In Kargil, for instance, brown bears are emerging mid-hibernation or have shorter hibernation periods. This means that the habitat of the bear and the snow leopard overlap for a longer time. This will create novel interactions, which could also end in conflict.
Our imagination has traditionally been captured by tigers in forests, birds in wetlands, and whales in seas. In uncovering some of the secrets of the snow leopards, we can take a step closer towards understanding a green-eyed silent cat standing in a remote Himalayan area. This is our chance to celebrate a mountain species.
Neha Sinha and Rishi Sharma are with WWF-India. WWF-India was the partner of state forest departments in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim for snow leopard estimation. The views expressed are personal
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