\u201cSnow leopards are not poached here,\u201d said study co-author Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior wildlife scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India. \u201cThe combination of the Buddhist culture and economic incentives to preserve the species has allowed their population to increase in density.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another snow leopard survey, in India\u2019s Himachal Pradesh state, estimated there are 83 individuals there, up from 51 recorded in 2021, reported<\/a> Mongabay India\u2019s Manish Chandra Mishra.<\/p>\n Snow leopards in Nepal<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Nepal\u2019s government announced the country\u2019s first-ever aggregated national estimate of snow leopards: about 397 individuals, reported<\/a> Mongabay\u2019s Abhaya Raj Joshi.<\/p>\n \u201cThis national estimate is a historic step in Nepal\u2019s conservation journey,\u201d said Ramchandra Kandel, director-general of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. \u201cIt not only provides us with a clearer picture of snow leopard populations but also informs future conservation strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, researchers tracking four GPS-collared snow leopards in Nepal found they frequently crossed borders, spending up to a third of their time in neighboring India and China, contributor Bibek Bhandari reported<\/a> in June.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now have solid proof,\u201d said Samundra Subba, study lead author and a large carnivore researcher at WWF Nepal. \u201cNational borders are human constructs \u2014 snow leopards don\u2019t recognize them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I find heartening in the results of the study in Nepal is that the collared snow leopards did not encounter any significant man-made barriers to their cross-border movement,\u201d said Charudutt Mishra, executive director of the Snow Leopard Trust, a U.S.-based NGO, who wasn\u2019t involved in the study. \u201cThis is not common, as borders typically tend to be fenced.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image of a snow leopard by Ismail Shariff\/Snow Leopard Trust via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> (CC BY 3.0<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n