In encouraging news for wildlife conservationists and enthusiasts, snow leopards have been recently captured in camera in Jammu’s Kishtwar district. The J&K’s wildlife protection department on Tuesday posted on X two photos of snow leopards captured by camera traps in Kishtwar’s Kiyar Nullah.

One of these snow leopards standing on a rocky surface was caught in the camera trap on October 1 at 2.15pm. The other picture was captured in a green mountain area on September 20 at 11.47am.

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In India, the snow leopard, which the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized as a vulnerable (VU) species, is granted the highest level of protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Hunting or deliberately killing it may invite a 3–7-year jail sentence.

It may be noted that the cold desert region of Ladakh is home to snow leopards and the rare animal is also found in the high reaches of Kishtwar that touches Kargil and Himachal Pradesh.

Earlier, in May this year, a research team of the wildlife department confirmed the presence of snow leopards in Kishtwar High-Altitude National Park through camera-trapping.The camera traps installed before snowfall in the national park were retrieved and multiple images of snow leopards were captured in the frames.

In one camera trap frame, three snow leopards were seen roaming amid the pristine snow-covered landscapes in Renai catchment of the national park.