Of 718 Snow Leopards counted nationwide, Ladakh holds 477, J&K just 9

New Delhi, Dec 11: India’s first nationwide Snow Leopard Census has confirmed a total of 718 snow leopards across the country’s high-altitude landscapes, with Ladakh emerging as the strongest habitat at 477 individuals, while Jammu and Kashmir accounts for only 9.

The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), carried out from 2019 to 2023, represents the country’s first systematic attempt to map and estimate the elusive high-mountain predator.

The census results, officially released on January 30, 2024, underscore the stark contrast between Ladakh’s robust population and the species’ limited presence in J&K.

According to the assessment, Ladakh hosts the largest snow leopard population in India, followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36) and Sikkim (21). J&K’s figure of nine snow leopards highlights the species’ precarious foothold in the Union Territory.

The SPAI exercise surveyed nearly 1.2 lakh sq km, over 70 percent of India’s potential snow leopard range, combining occupancy surveys with camera-trap-based abundance estimates.

Field teams logged 13,450 km of sign surveys and deployed camera traps at 1,971 sites, generating 1.8 lakh trap nights and identifying 241 individual animals.

The Wildlife Institute of India coordinated the assessment with active participation from all snow leopard range states, including teams from Ladakh and J&K, alongside local conservation groups working in trans-Himalayan landscapes.

Building on the findings, the Environment Ministry launched SPAI 2.0 during Wildlife Week 2025 to enhance monitoring, protect key habitats and increase community engagement across snow leopard regions, particularly crucial for J&K, where the population remains sparse and fragmented.

The snow leopard is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act and is among 24 priority species under the Centre’s Species Recovery Programme.

Conservation initiatives such as Project Snow Leopard and SECURE Himalaya are being implemented across Ladakh and J&K to safeguard habitats and support high-altitude communities.

The government has also advanced landscape-level protection measures, including expanding protected areas and promoting community stewardship.

A major milestone has been the declaration of the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Himachal Pradesh as part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves, securing 7770 sq km of snow leopard habitat.

The details were shared in the Rajya Sabha by Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written reply.