©Department of Forests and Park Services
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) is one of the apex predator of the alpine region, globally threatened due to habitat loss and fragmentation, prey depletion, human-wildlife conflict due to livestock predation, illegal poaching, impact of climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. The global snow leopard population size is estimated to be between 3,920 to 7,500 individuals, with approximately 2,710 to 3,386 of them being adults (McCarthy and Chapron 2003; Janecka et al. 2008; Snow Leopard Secretariat, 2013; McCarthy et al, 2017). The global population is expected to decrease by at least 10% over 3 generations (22.62 years), leading to the classification of the species as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.