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A study in Jammu and Kashmir reveals that common leopards are encroaching on snow leopard habitats possibly due to climate change.
This shift, documented by camera traps, highlights the adaptability of common leopards and poses a threat to the elusive snow leopards, potentially leading to increased human-wildlife conflict and challenges for conservation efforts.
A study based on a collaborative effort between non-profit Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and the Department of Wildlife Protection, Jammu and Kashmir, in the Kishtwar Himalayan region shows a unique trend in the upper elevations of 3,000-5,500 metres, the usual snow leopard habitat. In this region, a changing climate is not only challenging the habitat of the snow leopard, but also possibly pushing the common leopard in the upper reaches which can eventually outcompete the former species.
The study was carried out as part of the high attitude programme of NCF which is based in Mysuru, Karnataka. Titled the Status of Snow Leopards and Other High-Altitude Mammals in Kishtwar Himalayas, Jammu and Kashmir, it commenced in 2022 and was published this year. Researcher Shahid Hameed, who is based in Srinagar, explained that for the first time camera trap images revealed both the snow leopard and the common leopard in the same landscape. Previously, there were no records of snow leopards from Jammu and Kashmir. Possibly, no systematic study was done due to the ongoing conflict and the unstable political climate. Hameed works as a project coordinator.
The snow leopard, often called the ‘ghost of the mountains’ due to its elusive nature, is one of the key flagship species of the Indian Himalayas, both the eastern as well as the western regions. The study says that the range of the snow leopard is across vast areas, which are “predominantly located outside formal protected areas”. These areas are also home to local communities, mostly nomadic livestock herders, who keep large herds.
To safeguard snow leopards, the Government of India launched Project Snow Leopard in 2008. India’s SPAI or the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India is in alignment with the global Population Assessment of the World’s Snow Leopards or PAWS. The species is found in the mountains of Central and South Asia: Besides India, it is found in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The global estimated snow leopard population is between 4,000 and 6,500 individuals.
The common leopard is found across India. There are an estimated 13,874 leopards across India, according to the Status of Leopards in India, 2022 report. On the other hand, there are only 718 snow leopards spread over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The NCF study points out that the high altitude Kishtwar Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, encompassing the Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (KHANP), Warwan and Paddar Valley, is a critical stronghold for the snow leopard in the Western Himalayas, apart from Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. It is a sub-mountain range of the Himalayas.
Unfortunately, this region is facing the impacts of a changing climate. A study titled Climate Change, Rural Livelihood, and Sustainability: In Higher Himalayas of Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, concludes that climate change has brought about “multiple changes” in the environment and affected the livelihood of communities. The recent flash floods in the Kishtwar region have left over 45 people dead. This also has a direct consequence on the snow leopard habitats. The Jammu and Kashmir UT State action Plan for Climate Change and Human Health (2023) says that being nestled in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem, the region is exposed to natural fluctuations in climate and human-induced changes due to large-scale urbanisation. “Climate change poses a serious threat to species diversity, habitats, forests, wildlife, fisheries and water resources in the region.”
As part of the NCF study, camera trapping was carried out across three sites— KHANP, Paddar and Warwan. Researchers like Hameed detected a minimum of 12 individual snow leopards in 22 camera traps and the number can reach up to 20 adult individuals. Hameed pointed out that communities here face livestock depredation and crop damage. These are pressing challenges, which often lead to negative perceptions of wildlife, including the snow leopard.
Glacial melting in the Greater Himalayas threatens the habitat of the snow leopard. However, Hameed also finds, the presence of the common leopard in the higher reaches a disturbing trend. “In Paddar, both snow leopards and common leopards were detected at the same camera trap locations,” the study says.
India has a high incidence of human-wildlife conflict, resulting in losses on both sides as a result of shared existence. “Climate change can lead to increased human-wildlife conflicts as wildlife moves closer to human habitations when water availability and food are reduced in the mountains,” admits Munib Khanyari, who works in NCF as a programme manager, high altitudes.
Khanyari further explains. “I think that with climate change habitats are changing and the tree lines are shifting upwards due to snow melt. As the common leopard is much more adaptable, it is moving upwards, perhaps attracted by the presence of feral dogs due to garbage. Common leopards tend to feed on dogs.”
Hameed explained that for the first time camera traps were placed in the winter of 2024-2025, apart from the usual camera trap time carried out in the late summer and late autumn seasons. The cameras were removed in May. “Though not detected in 2023, during the 2024-25 survey, common leopards have been sighted at multiple sights in the snow leopard range which is not usual, as higher elevations are not habitats for common leopards.” This suggests an overlap between the two predators.
The researcher says it may be happening due to a changing climate, unavailability of food in the lower reaches which is their actual habitat (up to 3000 metres) and the presence of adequate prey, perhaps dogs, in the upper reaches. “The common leopard is probably exploring new regions and definitely crossing the tree line.” He fears that due to limited prey available in the upper elevations, the common leopard may eventually displace the snow leopards.
Common leopards can easily adapt and live close to humans whereas the snow leopard is shy and elusive. The close presence of the common leopard to human beings also escalates conflicts across various parts of India. In Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district, human-leopard conflict has killed 62 people from 2022 to June 2025, the data provided by the forest department shows. Even in the tea gardens of North Bengal, human-leopard conflict is a reality. Here, common leopards use the gardens for cover and for giving birth to cubs and raising them in the drains.
Coming back to Jammu and Kashmir, Hameed explained that in cases where the snow leopard feeds on livestock in herds having a minimum of 300 animals (both goats and sheep), people often get angry due to the impact on livelihood. “This has been happening across the snow leopard range and greatly endangers the species as a result of retaliatory killings.”
Interestingly, another study, Decades of leopard coexistence in the Himalayas driven by ecological dynamics, not climate change, published in January 2025 in Global Ecology and Conservation, explains that interaction between two predators “in overlapping habitats with distinct habitat requirements poses critical challenges for conservation and management strategies”.
The study makes use of historical accounts dating as far back as the 1950s and winter sighting data from trail cameras from 2016 to 2023 in the trans-Himalayan part of the Annapurna Conservation Area of Nepal (3100–4696 metres). Authors conclude that the co-occurrence of both these species is due to a “long-term adaptation of common leopards to high-altitude environments, demonstrated by their ability to survive and breed in cold temperatures as low as -18°C”.