Sikkim records 21, Arunachal Pradesh 36 snow leopards in India’s first nationwide census GANGTOK: India’s first-ever Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), conducted from 2019 to 2023, has placed Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh among the key eastern Himalayan habitats, documenting 21 and 36 snow leopards respectively. The findings, released on 30 January 2024, mark India’s first systematic and scientific estimation of the elusive high-altitude species. Across the Himalayan region, the exercise estimated a total national population of 718 snow leopards. The highest numbers were recorded in Ladakh (477), followed by Uttarakhand (124), Himachal Pradesh (51), Arunachal Pradesh (36), Sikkim (21) and Jammu & Kashmir (9). The SPAI survey covered nearly 1,20,000 sq km of potential habitat, deploying one of the largest wildlife monitoring exercises undertaken in the country. Survey teams walked 13,450 km of transects for sign surveys and installed 1,971 camera traps, resulting in 1.8 lakh trap nights and the identification of 241 individual snow leopards. The assessment followed a rigorous two-stage scientific method—mapping distribution through occupancy-based sampling and estimating abundance through stratified camera-trap surveys. Coordination was led by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), with participation from all snow-leopard range states and local conservation partners. With SPAI establishing India’s first reliable population benchmark, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched SPAI 2.0 during Wildlife Week 2025 to further strengthen scientific monitoring, structured assessments and community participation across high-altitude landscapes. Snow leopard conservation receives central support under the Species Recovery Programme of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme Development of Wildlife Habitats. The species is one of 24 priority animals identified for targeted protection. SPAI now forms the foundation for the Ministry’s expanded conservation action plan with a focus on long-term monitoring and enhanced community engagement. Under the National Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Priorities (NSLEP), the Ministry has prioritised actions such as Project Snow Leopard (PSL)—developed in consultation with Himalayan states—and SECURE Himalaya, which integrates wildlife protection with livelihood measures for mountain communities. Snow leopards are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, providing the highest level of legal safeguarding. India’s conservation strategy focuses on securing high-altitude habitats through strengthened protected-area management, landscape-level planning and community-based stewardship. Large tracts of snow-leopard terrain are safeguarded through designated biosphere reserves, including the Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve in Himachal Pradesh—part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves—alongside Nanda Devi and Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserves. The Ministry has noted that long-term protection of high-altitude ecosystems depends on preventing habitat degradation, improving landscape management, and ensuring coordinated scientific monitoring undertaken jointly by state governments and conservation agencies.
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Rishikesh (U’khand): The number of snow leopards has increased to 121 in Uttarakhand, according to the latest census.

State’s Chief Wildlife Warden Samir Sinha said the 2022 snow leopard census was conducted on the orders of the Centre.

Sinha said the census, conducted under the joint aegis of the Forest Department and Wildlife Institute of India, has shown encouraging results.

Eighty-six snow leopards were found in the state when the last such census was conducted six years ago.

Expressing happiness over the results of the census, Uttarakhand Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal said conservation of wildlife in the state is in the right direction and it will give further impetus to wildlife tourism in the future.

Only 12 countries in the world have snow leopards and India is one of them. The population of snow leopards in these countries is estimated to be between 3,000 and 7,000. In the 2016 census, 516 snow leopards were found in India.

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