International Snow Leopard Day is observed on 23rd October.
Key takeaways
Aim: To raise awareness on conservation and protection of snow leopards.
International Snow Leopard Day came into being on 23rd October, 2013 when Bishkek Declaration was adopted by 12 countries on the conservation of snow leopards.
The 12 countries included: India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Important value additions
Snow Leopard
It is also known as Ghost of the mountains.
They are positioned as the top predator in the food web.
It acts as an indicator of the health of the mountain ecosystem in which they live.
Habitat: Higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan landscape in J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
India is home to 5 big cats: Snow Leopard, Lion, Tiger, Common Leopard, and Clouded Leopard.
Snow Leopard capital of the world: Hemis, Ladakh.
Threat: Reduction in prey populations, illegal poaching and increased human population infiltration into the species habitat and illegal trade of wildlife parts and products
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
CITES: Appendix I
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix I
Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule I
Conservation Efforts by India: (1) HimalSanrakshak: It is a community volunteer programme, to protect snow leopards, launched on 23rd October 2020; (2) In 2019, First National Protocol was also launched on Snow Leopard Population Assessment; (3) SECURE Himalaya: Global Environment Facility (GEF)-UNDP funded project on conservation of high altitude biodiversity; (4) Project Snow Leopard launched in 2009; (5) Snow Leopard is in the list of 21 critically endangered species for the recovery programme of the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change.
Do you know?
Hemis National Park is the biggest national park of India and also has a good presence of Snow Leopard.
