16.5. PROJECT SNOW LEOPARD

♤ SNOW LEOPARD: The mystical apex predator

♤ The snow leopard is a globally endangered species. Merely 7,500 are estimated to be surviving over two million square kilometers in the Himalaya and Central Asian mountains, where they are facing tremendous human pressures.

♤ India is perhaps home to 10% of the global population in less than 5% of its global range, thus having a substantial proportion of its global population.

♤ Distribution in India - in Indian Himalayas, high altitude areas located above the forests (alpine meadows and cold deserts) Areas above 3000m broadly constitute snow leopard range in India. In the five Himalayan states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

♤ Most snow leopard occurring in China, followed by Mongolia and India. India is believed to have between 400 and 700 snow leopards in the five Himalayan states, though these estimates are not precise.

♤ Threats posed due to

♤ competition with livestock,

♤ degradation,

♤ poaching, and

♤ even facing local extinction

Do you know?

Chinese experts have successfully used a plant Pteris vittata L (The Chinese fern) to clean arsenic pollution from the soil.