A Snow Leopard was spotted at a height of about 4,000 metres in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
a. Tiger
b. Ostrich
c. Snow Leopard
d. White Tiger
- Its picture was captured by a camera-trap installed by State Wildlife Department.
- These findings have ascertained that Snow Leopards are inhabiting in new areas.
About Snow Leopard:
- Snow Leopard (Panthera uncial) is a large cat native to mountain ranges of Central and South Asia- including Himalayas, and Russia's remote Altai mountains.
- It inhabits in alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m.
- In northern range countries, it is also found at lower elevations.
- It mostly feed on wild animals, but also prey on livestock.
- It usually hunts at dawn and dusk and is able to kill prey up to three times it's own weight.
- In India, it is found in states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Threats:
- It is threatened by poaching for their fur, habitat destruction by infrastructure developments and climate change.
Protection Status:
- It has been listed in Schedule I under Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Appendix I of Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and Appendix I Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
- In September 2017, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had downgraded conservation status of Snow Leopard to "vulnerable" from "endangered".
- It is the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Project Snow Leopard:
- It was launched in 2009 to safeguard and conserve Snow Leopard (an unique natural heritage of high-altitude) and its habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions.
About the Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary:
- The sanctuary is a part of district Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh and also is a part of Moorang town.
- It was established in 1974 and is spread over an area of 3089 hectares.
- It hosts a wide range of flora and fauna due to varied elevation, different climatic situation and topographical type of weather found in its vicinity.
- This type of weather conditions thus helps in the survival of different type of species that are housed in the sanctuary.
- The sanctuary has diversified wildlife that forms part of it.
- It houses wild species of animal like Yak, Ibex, Blue Sheep, Himalayan Musk Deer, Goral, Brown Bear and Himalayan Black Bear.
- The dry alpine scrub and dry coniferous type of forest are main type of flora found in this sanctuary.
- Besides, dwarf juniper scrub, coniferous forest and temperate type of forest of the Himalayan region is also found in this sanctuary.
Question:
Q. Which rare animal was spotted at a height of about 4,000 metres in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh?a. Tiger
b. Ostrich
c. Snow Leopard
d. White Tiger