Snow Leopard

Why in news?

• The first-ever recording of the snow leopard from the Baltal-Zojila region has renewed the hope for the elusive predator in the higher altitudes of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

About Snow Leopard:

• It acts as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem in which they live.
• Ladakh recently adopted snow leopard as their official animal.
• Habitat:
  • Higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan landscape in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Hemis, Ladakh is known as the Snow Leopard’s capital of the world.
• Threats:
  • Reduction in prey populations, illegal poaching and increased human population infiltration into the species habitat and illegal trade of wildlife parts and products

Conservation Efforts:

• Himal Sanrakshak:
  • It is a community volunteer programme, to protect snow leopards, launched on 23rd October 2020
• In 2019, First National Protocol was also launched on Snow Leopard Population Assessment
• SECURE Himalaya:
  • It is a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-UNDP funded project on conservation of high altitude biodiversity
• Project Snow Leopard  launched in 2009
• Snow Leopard is in the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.
• Snow leopards have been categorized as “vulnerable” in the IUCN Red List.
• It is also included in:
  • Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
  • Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
  • Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following pairs:

Official Animal/Bird : Associated State

1. Snow Leopard            : Ladakh

2. Great hornbill              : Kerala

3. Blackbuck                     : Punjab

4. Elephant                       : Karnataka

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 4 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1,2,3 and 4

Answer