SRINAGAR: Four snow leopards were captured on camera in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park by a team of scientists from the University of Kashmir, Srinagar, and the National Development Foundation, Jammu.
The sighting was reported in the journal Oryx on May 9, 2024. Snow leopards are categorised as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to their elusive nature and preference for rugged terrains in Central and South Asia.
This marks the first photographic evidence of snow leopards in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, indicating its significance for biodiversity.
The researchers used a grid-based camera-trapping survey and obtained eight photographs of the snow leopards at altitudes ranging from 3,004 to 3,878 metres in Kiyar, Nanth, and Renai catchments.
The study also recorded snow leopard prey species like the Siberian ibex, Himalayan musk deer, long-tailed marmot, and pika, confirming Kishtwar’s potential as a snow leopard habitat.
The researchers deployed 40 camera traps at 57 locations across the park from May 2022 to June 2023, resulting in photographs of two snow leopards together in a single frame, providing crucial insights into their distribution and behaviour.
The study highlighted anthropogenic pressures from livestock grazing, particularly in Kibber, Kiyar, Nanth, and Renai catchments, where nearly 3,000 graziers and nomadic herders and 150,000 livestock annually compete for pasture with snow leopards and their prey.
This competition could escalate human-wildlife conflicts and push the snow leopards and their prey into less suitable areas, increasing vulnerability to threats.
Kishtwar High Altitude National Park is crucial for snow leopard conservation, as it connects three distinct Himalayan landscapes: the greater Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir, the trans-Himalayas of Ladakh via Zanskar, and the lesser Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh.
Given its strategic location and high-altitude passes facilitating snow leopard movement across the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan regions, the findings have significant implications for conservation efforts in India.
The researchers recommended a comprehensive study covering the entire Kishtwar landscape, including the Paddar and Wadwan valleys, to assess aspects like occupancy, abundance, demography, and movement patterns of snow leopards and their prey.
