Kishtwar Himalayas an important snow leopard habitat, flags survey
Conducted between 2022 and 2025 across the Kishtwar Himalayas, the survey was launched under the nationwide Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) protocol. While earlier years confirmed the presence of snow leopards in the UT in summer and autumn, for the first time, the 2024–25 phase brought new insights — recording snow leopards during winter months in both Paddar (Jammu division) and Zojila (Kashmir division). This suggests year-round use of the landscape, a critical indicator of stable habitat and a resident population, the survey said.
The survey also documented 16 mammal species, including the rare Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf, common leopard, Kashmir musk deer, stone marten, pika, Asiatic ibex, and red fox. In some instances, both snow leopards and common leopards were detected at the same camera locations in Paddar, raising important questions about species interactions and the possible impact of climate change on range shifts, the authors said.
'We conducted systematic camera trapping across three sites in the Kishtwar landscape — Kishtwar HighAltitude National Park (KHANP), Paddar and Warwan. We detected a minimum of 12 individual snow leopards in 22 camera traps. Combining SECR estimates with raw counts from 2023, we estimate snow leopard numbers to be up to 20 adult individuals in our study area,' the report said.
'These findings reaffirm the importance of Jammu & Kashmir as a key snow leopard stronghold. It is time to treat the Kishtwar Himalayas not as isolated valleys, but as part of an interconnected conservation landscape,' said Shahid Hameed, Wildlife Research and Project Coordinator at NCF.
'Much of the credit must go to the continued commitment of the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department to conserve their high-altitude homes,' he added.
With glacial melting in the Greater Himalayas occurring at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the planet, snow leopard habitat is severely threatened. This could potentially escalate the intensity and frequency of snow leopard and human interactions. Elaborate studies of human-snow leopard conflict, incorporating livestock-wild ungulate interactions and climate change, might also prove useful for snow leopard conservation, the study has flagged.
The survey also included a landscape-level threat assessment based on interviews with over 300 households across Paddar, Warwan, Dacchan and Marwah. Livestock depredation and crop damage emerged as major challenges impacting the primary livelihood of the locals, with need for more context-specific mitigation strategies. These losses shape community attitudes towards wildlife and demand the need for conflict resolution interventions.
HT reported on February 1, 2024, there are around 718 snow leopards in the country, the first ever population estimation exercise of the vulnerable species by the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program has found. During the assessment conducted from 2019 to 2023, a total of 241 unique Snow leopards were photographed. Based on the analysis, Ladakh has the highest estimated population of the animal (477) followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Kishtwar Himalayas an important snow leopard habitat, flags survey
New Delhi: A three-year camera trapping study has confirmed year-round presence and breeding activity of snow leopards in Jammu & Kashmir, especially the significance of Kishtwar Himalayas that provide an important habitat for snow leopards and several other threatened mammals. The survey suggests year-round use of the landscape, a critical indicator of stable habitat and a resident population. Conducted between 2022 and 2025 across the Kishtwar Himalayas, the survey was launched under the nationwide Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) protocol. While earlier years confirmed the presence of snow leopards in the UT in summer and autumn, for the first time, the 2024–25 phase brought new insights — recording snow leopards during winter months in both Paddar (Jammu division) and Zojila (Kashmir division). This suggests year-round use of the landscape, a critical indicator of stable habitat and a resident population, the survey said. The survey also documented 16 mammal species, including the rare Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf, common leopard, Kashmir musk deer, stone marten, pika, Asiatic ibex, and red fox. In some instances, both snow leopards and common leopards were detected at the same camera locations in Paddar, raising important questions about species interactions and the possible impact of climate change on range shifts, the authors said. 'We conducted systematic camera trapping across three sites in the Kishtwar landscape — Kishtwar HighAltitude National Park (KHANP), Paddar and Warwan. We detected a minimum of 12 individual snow leopards in 22 camera traps. Combining SECR estimates with raw counts from 2023, we estimate snow leopard numbers to be up to 20 adult individuals in our study area,' the report said. 'These findings reaffirm the importance of Jammu & Kashmir as a key snow leopard stronghold. It is time to treat the Kishtwar Himalayas not as isolated valleys, but as part of an interconnected conservation landscape,' said Shahid Hameed, Wildlife Research and Project Coordinator at NCF. 'Much of the credit must go to the continued commitment of the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department to conserve their high-altitude homes,' he added. With glacial melting in the Greater Himalayas occurring at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the planet, snow leopard habitat is severely threatened. This could potentially escalate the intensity and frequency of snow leopard and human interactions. Elaborate studies of human-snow leopard conflict, incorporating livestock-wild ungulate interactions and climate change, might also prove useful for snow leopard conservation, the study has flagged. The survey also included a landscape-level threat assessment based on interviews with over 300 households across Paddar, Warwan, Dacchan and Marwah. Livestock depredation and crop damage emerged as major challenges impacting the primary livelihood of the locals, with need for more context-specific mitigation strategies. These losses shape community attitudes towards wildlife and demand the need for conflict resolution interventions. HT reported on February 1, 2024, there are around 718 snow leopards in the country, the first ever population estimation exercise of the vulnerable species by the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program has found. During the assessment conducted from 2019 to 2023, a total of 241 unique Snow leopards were photographed. Based on the analysis, Ladakh has the highest estimated population of the animal (477) followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21), and Jammu and Kashmir (9).
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Year-round presence: Snow leopards thriving in J&K, finds three-year study
Snow leopards or 'grey ghosts of the mountains', one of the world's most elusive big cats and hard to track, are silently not only surviving but thriving in Jammu and Kashmir, according to findings of a new survey. Camera traps have detected at least 12 adult snow leopards, with an estimated presence of up to 20 individuals. (HT photo) A landmark three-year camera-trapping study — a method used in wildlife research to remotely monitor animals using cameras, often placed in areas where they are difficult to observe directly — conducted by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the wildlife protection department of Jammu and Kashmir has confirmed year-round presence and breeding activity of snow leopards in the Union Territory -- marking a significant breakthrough for high-altitude biodiversity conservation in India. Conducted between 2022 and 2025 across the Kishtwar Himalayas, the study was launched under the nationwide Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) protocol. 'Over 3,000 camera trap nights across Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (KHANP), Paddar, and Zojila resulted in the identification of at least 12 adult snow leopards, with an estimated presence of up to 20 individuals,' said Shahid Hameed, wildlife research and project coordinator at NCF and one of the co-authors of the study. The presence of at least a mother with cubs in Kishtwar confirms that this is a breeding population,' adds Hameed. Snow leopards and their habitats currently face severe global threats, including rapid climate change, habitat degradation, prey depletion, retaliation due to livestock depredation, poaching, and illegal wildlife trade. According to the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme (GSLEP), the total snow leopard population in the world is roughly estimated at between 4,000 and 6,500. For India, the latest population estimate is 718, meaning India has around one-ninth of the total population of snow leopards. India had launched Project Snow Leopard in 2009 to save the elusive and vulnerable species. Weighing up to 75 kg (165 lb), the snow leopard has a thick, soft grey coat with ringed black spots to help it camouflage itself among rocks. 'The cat is rarely spotted and hardly photographed. Hence, little is known about it,' said Hameed, adding that previously, there was no verifiable source to confirm the presence of snow leopards, with surveys in the Western Himalayas being limited to Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. However, later surveys established the presence of snow leopards for the first time in the Union Territory of J-K. 'These findings reaffirm the importance of Jammu and Kashmir as a key snow leopard stronghold. It is time to treat the Kishtwar Himalayas not as isolated valleys, but as part of an interconnected conservation landscape,' added Hameed. The survey began in the year 2022 and confirmed the presence of snow leopards in Jammu and Kashmir, but the 2024-25 phase of the project brought new insights -- recording snow leopards during winter months in both Paddar (Jammu division) and Zojila (Kashmir division). This, the survey suggests, is year-round use of the landscape, a critical indicator of stable habitat and a resident population. Hameed explained that camera trapping is one of the methods to record wildlife without actually being present in the field. 'The camera trap does the job of a field observer. We strategically place these cameras in the field based on our understanding of the landscape and ecology/behaviour of our target animal. These cameras are triggered by motion, and once an animal passes in front of the camera, the sensor detects the motion and activates the camera to take photos,' said Hameed. 'We are now planning to fix a radio collar on some of the cats but it needs a lot of resources, funding and government approval,' he said. In 2022, an adult snow leopard - Panthera Uncia - was identified from pictures captured using infrared camera traps, in the upper Baltal-Zojila axis at a height of 3500-3800 metres above sea level which was the first evidence of the big cat in Kashmir. In 2012, two adult snow leopards were also caught on infrared cameras in Kargil district, then part of J&K. In 2022, wildlife protection authorities in J&K started a population census of snow leopards as part of the nationwide population assessment of the elusive species. Apart from snow leopards, the study also documented the presence of 16 other mammal species in the region, including the rare Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf, common leopard, Kashmir musk deer, stone marten, pika, Asiatic ibex, and red fox, said Hameed.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- New Indian Express
Code Green
It was burning bright. For three months, a four-year-old tiger roamed across 12 villages in Lucknow's Rehmankheda area, killing 25 animals and keeping residents on edge in the forest of the night. Daily life slowed as people stayed indoors, wary of the elusive predator that was a ghost with stripes. To track it down, forest officials took a blended approach—mixing traditional tracking methods with modern technology. They installed AI-powered thermal cameras at five key points and deployed three thermal drones to scan the forest canopy. On the ground, trained elephants Diana and Sulochana moved through dense undergrowth where vehicles couldn't go. Meanwhile, a wildlife expert in Bengaluru monitored live camera feeds, studying the tiger's patterns to anticipate its movements. In March, came the breakthrough. AI cameras captured the tiger returning to a fresh kill. A ranger team was dispatched. A tranquiliser dart was fired, but the tiger fled, covering 500 metres before disappearing into thick foliage. Drones followed it from above, helping rangers close in for a second shot. Within 15 minutes, the animal was safely sedated. The 230 kg beast was then caged and transported to the Bakshi Ka Talab range office. The entire operation ended without a single human injury, thanks to the combined effort of AI surveillance, aerial tracking, and coordinated fieldwork. In the past, conserving wildlife in India often meant navigating dense jungles with binoculars, spending months waiting for elusive animals to appear, or diving into the sea with nothing more than a net. Today, conservationists are adding something new to their toolkit: algorithms, thermal cameras, drones, and even genetic samplers. From the cold, high-altitude deserts of Ladakh to the lush mangroves of the Sundarbans, across coral reefs, tiger corridors, and railway tracks, a quiet revolution is unfolding. Technology is changing not only how we protect wildlife, but how we understand it. In Ladakh, where the air is thin and snow leopards are more myth than mammal to most, a team of researchers set out to count the uncountable. 'Tough terrain and a lack of transport facilities were major challenges,' recalls Pankaj Raina from the Department of Wildlife Protection, Leh. 'We carried rations and equipment on ponies and set up temporary camps at subzero temperatures. Some places can only be accessed in winter, when the streams freeze. So, we'd place cameras one winter and return the next to collect them.' Over two years, they trekked more than 6,000 km and installed 956 camera traps across India's largest snow leopard habitat. But their real challenge began only after they returned with nearly half a million images. No human team could sort through that volume of footage manually. So they turned to AI. A system called CaTRAT, trained to recognise Himalayan wildlife, scanned each frame to identify species. But something more precise was required. A second programme was deployed, this one trained to analyse forehead patterns, which are more reliable. 'Only the clearest image from each sequence was used,' explains Raina. 'These were digitised and processed through AI software that scored pattern similarities, creating a photographic library of each individual snow leopard.' The study, published in PLOS One earlier this year, revealed a hopeful truth: snow leopards in Ladakh are thriving. And for the first time, India now has a national photo library of snow leopards—a visual archive that will enable researchers to monitor individual animals. Far to the south, in the forested corridor between Walayar and Madukkarai in Tamil Nadu, a different crisis was unfolding. Since 2008, 11 elephants had died in train collisions along a single seven-km-stretch of track. In 2024, the Coimbatore Forest Division responded by installing an AI-powered thermal surveillance system. The setup involved cameras that detect heat signatures in real-time, capable of spotting large mammals even in pitch darkness or heavy rain. The moment an elephant is detected near the tracks, the system sends instant alerts to train operators and forest teams. In its very first year, the system generated over 5,000 alerts, enabled 2,500 safe elephant crossings—and recorded zero elephant deaths. Technology is also transforming how humans coexist with big cats. In Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, AI-enabled cameras were installed on the edges of 13 villages starting in 2023. These motion-sensitive devices don't just record tiger activity—they analyse it, sending real-time alerts to villagers when tigers are nearby. The system has worked so well that it caught the attention of Prime Minister Modi, who mentioned the effort during the 110th episode of Mann Ki Baat.
