Year-round presence: Snow leopards thriving in J&K, finds three-year study

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

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.