The survey to track snow leopards employed over 200 camera traps across 99 strategic locations in Sikkim as part of the study
Sikkim records 21 snow leopards in first Statewide survey: In a landmark for wildlife conservation in the Eastern Himalayas, the Government of Sikkim and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India jointly released the Statewide Assessment of the Population and Density of Snow Leopards in Sikkim during the 50th Statehood Day celebrations at Paljor Stadium.
The report confirms the presence of 21 snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the State, with an estimated density of 0.40 snow leopards per 100 sq km.
The elusive big cats were found mainly in the Lachen and Lachung reserve forests of North Sikkim.
The study, part of the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI), was conducted by the Forest and Environment Department, Government of Sikkim, with WWF-India as the technical partner appointed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India.
The survey employed over 200 camera traps across 99 strategic locations, capturing more than 6.2 lakh images from altitudes between 3,500m to 6,000m.
ALSO READ:
