- Kyrgyzstan, a country in Central Asia, has designated the snow leopard as its national symbol.
About
| Details | |
| Habitat | Mountainous regions of Central and Southern Asia; in India: western and eastern Himalayas. |
| Indian Geographical Range | Eastern Himalayas (Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh) and Western Himalayas (J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand). |
| Project Snow Leopard (2009) | Aims to improve animal protection at high altitudes in the Himalayas by incorporating local populations. |
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List: VulnerableCITES: Appendix IWildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (India): Schedule I |
| India’s Conservation Efforts | The flagship species for the upper Himalayas.Since 2013, it has been a part of the GSLEP Programme.Himalaya Sanrakshak community development programme (2020).SECURE Himalaya project (GEF-UNDP financed) National Protocol on Snow Leopard Population Assessment (2019).The MoEF&CC has listed 21 severely endangered species for recovery.Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park’s conservation breeding programme. |
| GSLEP Programme | 12 snow leopard countries (India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) have formed an inter-governmental alliance to raise awareness about the importance of ecosystems. |
| Living Himalaya Network Initiative | WWF’s initiative in Bhutan, India (North-East), and Nepal to make a difference in conservation in the Eastern Himalayas. |
The Importance of the Snow Leopard
- The snow leopard represents the health and stability of mountain ecosystems, which encompass a large amount of the world’s land surface.
- In ancient Kyrgyz culture, the snow leopard was a totem animal associated with the legendary figure Manas.
- The snow leopard represents the balance between mankind and nature in Chyngyz Aitmatov’s novel “When Mountains Fall.”
Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/world/snow-leopard-enigmatic-big-cat-of-high-asia-now-national-animal-of-kyrgyzstan-93664