A rare snow leopard which killed 40 livestock in Himachal Pradesh was captured and sent to a zoo

IANS. Representative Picture

• The vulnerable species was captured in Geu village of Spiti and was sent to the Himalayan Nature Park in Kufri of Shimla district.
• There are only 7500 snow leopards left in the world, out of which 44 reside in the high valleys of Himachal Pradesh.
  
• Last year, India along with 12 other countries pledged to begin counting the existing population of snow leopards and double its population.
  
  

Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has captured a rare snow leopard — which had killed over 40 livestock in four days — in Lahaul and Spiti district on April 5. The vulnerable species was captured in Geu village of Spiti and was sent to the Himalayan Nature Park in Kufri of Shimla district.

According to Savita Sharma, chief wildlife officer, Himachal Pradesh, the snow leopard wasn’t released because it involved “wild animal-human conflict.”

There are only 7500 snow leopards left in the world, out of which 44 reside in the high valleys of Himachal Pradesh.

Apart from Himachal Pradesh, snow leopards can also be found in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arun Chal Pradesh. Moreover, they can also be found in China, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Burma, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan.

The population of snow leopards is threatened with an increase in a number of road projects under China-Pakistan Economic order. Moreover, these snow leopards are forced to live in lower altitude as the population of ibex and blue sheep — its prey — is declining rapidly.

Last year, India along with 12 other countries pledged to begin counting the existing population of snow leopards and double its population.


See also: The snowy peak of Kanchenjunga can now be seen from a 100 km away because the slump in global energy demand has cleared the skies