Uttarakhand state forest department will open India’s first conservation centre for snow leopards in Uttarkashi district soon. Through this, the government plans to conserve the endangered wildlife species and promote winter tourism. According to scientists of the Wildlife Institute of India, there are about 586 snow leopards in the country at this time. The conservation centre is being built in collaboration with the Netherlands to conserve these snow leopards. The cost of the conservation centre will be around Rs.5.5 crores. According to officials, the centre will be developed by the Uttarakhand forest department along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
According to estimates, Uttarakhand has around 86 snow leopards. The state forest department is expected to start the snow leopard estimation process with the help of camera traps from September this year. In Uttarakhand, snow leopards are found in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Gangotri National Park, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and other places of altitude between 3000-4500 meters in a total geographical area of around 13,000 square kilometres. The animal is considered to be one of the most enigmatic wild cat species due to its reclusive nature which has earned it a title of ‘Ghost of the Mountains’.
Regarding this snow leopard conservation centre, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat says that the conservation of snow leopards and other wildlife along with the winter tour of the state will also be encouraged. The state government’s effort is to conserve the extinct species of wildlife.
The snow leopard inhabits the higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan landscape in the five states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. This area contributes to about 5% of the global snow leopard range. Snow leopards are categorized as ‘Vulnerable’ by IUCN and in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. They are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), revealing the need for the highest conservation status to the species, both globally and in India.
