Rescue of injured snow leopard from Southern Plains raises concerns among wildlife experts in Nepal

Found only in 12 countries across the globe, that too at high levels, forest officials earlier this week found the estranged snow leopard aged 25 months from the Southern Plains of Nepal.

Divided opinion amongst the experts has raised concerns as some speculate it to be a failed trafficking attempt while some suspect it to be behavioural change. Kept in isolation since Wednesday after being rescued from a thicket in Urlabari of Sunsari District of Nepal, officials from the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) displayed the snow leopard from its controlled temperature room.

Enlisted as endangered species and protected by law, experts suspected the rescued apex predator was tried to be trafficked and might have escaped.

Karan Sah, one of the lead experts in Snow Leopard of Nepal, noted that the cub separates from the mother after reaching about two years.

"Our speculation, the cub separates from the mother after reaching about two years and if the cub is on search for the new habitat then it would have enough habitat in high altitudes in Taplejung and other adjoining mountainous districts- Terhathum and Panchthar. The hilly districts have habitat for it and another reason to speculate is that there are two big rivers flowing through the districts- Kabeli and Tamor. There are other additional rivers flowing through, which means there are many barriers for the snow leopard to get out of there which reduce the chances of possible disperse from high altitude," Karan Sah told media.

As per Sah, the furs and tail of the leopard also haven't developed as it would have been in its natural habitat. Having the topographical difficulty to get across the big rivers and under developed body structures, the expert speculates it to be the result of failed smuggle attempt.

Karan Sah said, "The fur hasn't developed fully. If we suppose it to be a cub and dispersed lately from the mother the furs should have developed because it's peak winter and the furs would have been shiny and tail would have been thick and furry as well as twisted. Body and the tail's fur of a snow leopard varies by about 10 centimeters and some of its tail touch the ground as it walks. There has been clear distinction in the expected traits and the reality for which I would speculate it to be result of the deprivation of foods in captivity."

Snow leopards are found in the high mountains of the Central and South Asia. In Nepal, potential snow leopard habitat is estimated to be about 13,000 km square, with a large number of snow leopards found to be occurring outside protected areas.

Nepal of is one of the 12 snow leopard range countries and the current estimated global snow leopard population range from 3,921 to 6,290, with Nepal having an estimated 350-500 snow leopards as per the counts of 2017 by Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservations.

Experts have been puzzled by the discovery of snow leopards at an elevation of 143 meters from sea level but have ruled it out as an effect of climate change further increasing the concern.

While addressing a press meet at Central Zoo where the leopard was brought, Madhu Chhetri, Chief, Gauri Shankar Conservation Project said, "We tend to associate everything with climate change. If that had happened to be the case then it (snow leopard) would not have come down to hotter place, it would have rather climbed to higher altitude, if we assume the effect of climate change, search for coldness would have taken it to higher altitude but it came to the opposite direction thats why I don't think its effect of climate change."

Listed in CITES Appendix I and protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973, snow leopards were classified Endangered in the IUCN's Red List and down-listed in 2017 as Vulnerable because of the recent increase in their global population attributed to better population estimate using more reliable survey methods.

It is to be noted that prey species of apex predators of Himalayan region- the blue sheep and Himalayan tahr are depleting in numbers because of overgrazing of range lands from domestic livestock, along with shifting traditional herding practices and overexploitation of medicinal plants.

The shortage of natural prey lead to conflict with humans when snow leopard prey on livestock. Snow leopards live above 3,500 m in the rugged mountain terrain rendering their monitoring and detecting their poaching extremely difficult.

Rising temperatures in the Himalayas of Nepal is causing treeline and snowline to shift upward that is expected to result in loss of approximately 30 per cent of the snow leopard habitat. 'Compressing' snow leopard habitat could be further compounded by more intense habitat overlap between livestock and prey species and with sympatric species such as common leopard, Himalayan wolf.

Puzzled by its discovery at Charghare, Urlabari on Tuesday, investigation to find possible answers about how it reached to the lower elevation than its habitat. Snow leopards inhabit the mountainous region spanning from Kanchanjangha in the east to Api Nampa in the west of the country.

Deepak Kumar Kharal, Secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, said, "This Snow Leopard which has been found in the lower elevation, the concerned departments and investigation bodies have started the investigation internally to find the answers." (ANI)