Jammu, May 16: The research team of the Jammu and Kashmir Department of wildlife protection has confirmed the presence of snow leopards in Kishtwar High Altitude National Park through camera trap photographs.
The development can help ensure the proper conservation of the endangered species.
The camera traps installed before snowfall in the 2,195.50 square kilometres national park have been retrieved and multiple images of snow leopards have been captured in the frames, wildlife warden, headquarters, Arun Gupta said.
Listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the snow leopards are mostly found at an altitude between 3,000 and 4,500 metres and have been sighted in the snow-bound areas of the Kishtwar National Park and its adjoining areas in Jammu region, parts of central and north Kashmir and Ladakh.
In November 2021, the wildlife department launched a first-of-its-kind snow leopard population assessment expedition under the snow leopard project of the Union Ministry of Environment with a focus on identifying the landscape housing the species and challenges for their proper conservation.
“In one camera trap frame, three snow leopards have been captured roaming amidst the pristine snow-covered landscapes in Renai catchment of Kishtwar High Altitude National Park, while earlier the department through outsourced scientific study has also captured two individual (one adult and one sub adult) in a single frame of camera trap in Nanth Nallah,” Gupta said.
He said the study is part of the snow leopard population assessment and biodiversity documentation of protected areas being carried out by the department.
