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The Union Territory of Ladakh is home to the highest recorded density of snow leopards in the world, with nearly 68 per cent of India’s population of the elusive big cat found in the Union Territory, according to a new study.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, estimated India’s snow leopard (Panthera uncia) population at 709 individuals, of which 477 were found in Ladakh.
Snow leopards, restricted to mountainous terrains in 12 countries across South and Central Asia, occupied a range of 47,572 km² in Ladakh alone. Globally, snow leopard populations range from 0.92 to 1.8 animals per 100 km², the study found. Previously, the highest snow leopard densities globally ranged from 1.06 to 1.84 individuals per 100 km² in parts of Tibet. The new findings from Ladakh significantly exceed those benchmarks.
Hemis National Park reported the highest recorded number of snow leopards in the world, with about 2.07 animals per 100 square kilometers (km²) — more than any previous count from Tibet.
In contrast, the lowest densities within the region were recorded in the Changthang High Altitude Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary. “In total, around 39 per cent snow leopards (~185 individuals) had major part of their activity within protected areas. Nonetheless, around 57 per cent snow leopards in the landscape utilised protected areas for their modelled movement,” the paper said.
Researchers described the project as the most intensive snow leopard survey ever conducted in Ladakh. The team used a double-sampling approach across a 59,150 km² landscape, integrating occupancy surveys, camera trap-based spatially explicit mark-recapture methods and habitat distribution modelling.
“Our primary goal was to assess the distribution and population of snow leopards and their prey in Ladakh and demonstrate a robust approach for designing a sensitive assessment applicable at a multi-landscape scale,” the authors said.
Pankaj Raina, lead author and a divisional forest officer with the eco-task force project in Jammu, attributed Ladakh’s snow leopard success to a combination of cultural values, prey availability and sustained conservation efforts.
“The high density of snow leopards may be attributed to the cultural values of the Ladakhi people and the efforts of the Ladakh Wildlife Department over the years. This transformed Ladakh from a hunting ground into a present-day example of conservation,” he said.
Raina also highlighted the role of the region’s rugged, remote landscapes and low human density along with abundant wild and domestic prey. “Local communities and traditional pastoral practices have played a crucial role in conservation,” he added.
As humans and wildlife share the same areas, conservation planning must be inclusive and based on solid evidence, especially with major development projects and climate change on the rise, the paper stated.
It also raised concerns over the species’ International Union for Conservation of Nature status. In 2017, the snow leopard was downlisted from Endangered to Vulnerable on IUCN’s Red List, in part due to inflated or uneven population estimates across its range. The decision, the paper noted, faced criticism “due to its potential for scientific misinterpretation.”
Globally, an estimated 221 to 450 snow leopards are poached each year for the illegal wildlife trade, the study stated. The authors warned that the downlisting could have long-term ramifications for conservation unless population and distribution assessments are strengthened through scientifically rigorous methods.
In addition to snow leopard sightings, researchers recorded blue sheep, urial and ibex across the region. The study found a positive correlation between increasing snow leopard sign encounter rates and the presence of wild prey, as well as increased livestock sightings, greater terrain ruggedness and lower human settlement density.
Ninad Mungi, co-author of the study, described the effort as a model for future conservation science. “This collaboration between forest department, local communities and scientists has yielded a reliable method to monitor snow leopards populations globally. High densities in Ladakh highlight snow leopard conservation to be a social enterprise. Just like, or maybe even more than, tiger or any other megafauna conservation,” he said.
