First Snow Leopard Census: Ladakh Leads With 477 Big Cats, Jammu Kashmir Records 9 | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: India’s first scientific nationwide census of snow leopards has confirmed 718 individuals across the Himalayan landscapes, with Ladakh emerging as the country’s most important habitat for the elusive high-altitude predator. The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), whose findings were released in January 2024, has recorded only nine snow leopards in Jammu and Kashmir, reflecting both the fragmented terrain and the limited accessible habitat in the Union Territory. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the assessment marks a major milestone in understanding and protecting one of the world’s most threatened mountain species.

The SPAI, conducted between 2019 and 2023, covered roughly 1,20,000 square kilometres of terrain spanning Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Survey teams walked more than 13,000 kilometres of transects, deployed camera traps across nearly 2,000 locations, generated 1.8 lakh trap nights and identified 241 individual snow leopards. Ladakh accounted for 477 individuals, followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36) and Sikkim (21). The numbers mark the first rigorous baseline from which conservation and management decisions can be taken.

The Government told Parliament that the findings form the foundation of the next phase of conservation planning. The Ministry has already launched SPAI 2.0 during Wildlife Week 2025 to strengthen population monitoring and establish a consistent nationwide framework for tracking snow leopards and their prey species. The follow-up plan emphasises structured scientific assessments, high-altitude habitat protection and enhanced community participation, recognising that many snow leopard landscapes overlap with pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods.

Funding support continues under the Species Recovery component of the Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme, under which the snow leopard is one of 24 flagship species. Long-term protections flow from the National Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Priorities (NSLEP) and Project Snow Leopard, both designed to coordinate State Governments, research institutions and local communities across the Himalayan arc.

The Ministry also highlighted ongoing work under SECURE Himalaya, an initiative focused on safeguarding high-altitude ecosystems while improving local livelihoods. The programme aims to reduce human–wildlife conflict, support sustainable grazing regimes, and build community stewardship over fragile alpine environments. India’s wildlife laws provide the snow leopard with the highest category of protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

To prevent habitat degradation, the Government said it is working on expanding protected areas, improving management effectiveness, and securing ecologically significant landscapes. The declaration of the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Himachal Pradesh as part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves, along with the Nanda Devi and Khangchendzonga reserves, provides long-term protection to nearly 7,770 square kilometres of snow leopard habitat through a participatory conservation model.

With SPAI establishing India’s first robust population estimate, the Government has said the coming decade will focus on science-led management, landscape-level planning and strengthening the partnership between conservation agencies and mountain communities who serve as the first custodians of the snow leopard’s fragile world.