A quest for the ‘ghost’ cat based on lore: UPSC Daily Important Topic | 18 October 2022

A quest for the ‘ghost’ cat based on lore-

✓Wildlife officials in Arunachal Pradesh await results of a survey to ascertain the presence of snow leopards in the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.

✓The snow leopard has never been spotted nor recorded in the Namdapha National Park.

✓The belief that the national park is also the habitat of the snow leopard is based on the claim of a hunter from the Lisu ethnic community that he possessed the skin of the snow leopard.

● Snow leopards:

✓Native to the alpine regions of Central Asia.

✓The 12 snow-leopard range countries are – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Russia and Uzbekistan.

✓In India, snow leopards inhabit the higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan region at an altitude between 3,000-5,400 metres.

✓Snow leopard states are Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

● Conservation:

✓Listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list of threatened species.

✓Protected under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

✓Listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species

(CITES).