Although snow leopards are known as the “ghosts of the mountains” due to their elusive nature, Indian researchers have managed to capture images of over 200 of them in a historic study that estimates that there are at least 718 of animals in the nation.
According to the environment ministry, the massive five-year assessment, which was the first statewide evaluation of snow leopards in India, examined 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of the species’ isolated mountain habitat.
In order to capture 241 individual leopards on video, camera traps had to be placed in about 2,000 sites and more than 180,000 nights had to be recorded over nearly 500 years.
The leopards with thick grey fur dotted with dark spots, and large paws that act as natural snow shoes are “masters of stealth and camouflage”, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) India, who assisted the assessment.
Indian media reported on Wednesday that the environment ministry claimed the survey has “significantly increased understanding” of the rare species.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists snow leopards, scientifically known as panthera uncia, as a “vulnerable” species (IUCN).
The WWF had estimated that there were 400–700 snow leopards in India before to the survey. The total number is now estimated by the report to be in the higher range of previous estimations.
Two-thirds of the cats are found in India’s far northern Ladakh, with the rest in Himalayan states including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the survey found.
“Consistent monitoring is essential to ensuring snow leopards’ long-term survival,” the environment ministry added.
The precise total number is unknown, according to the US-based conservation organization Snow Leopard Trust, but “there may be as few as 3,920 and probably no more than 6,390” spread throughout 12 Asian countries.
Due to its ability to blend in, the IUCN has named the lone cat the “ghost of the mountains” and stated that poaching, habitat loss, and the effects of climate change are the main causes of its decline.
